The mall will be one of the largest in northeastern Poland Courtesy of MGC Inwest

Libra Project has recently launched construction on its long-awaited Galeria Warmińska shopping center in Olsztyn. The investment, located at the intersection of ul. Sikorskiego and ul. Tuwima, next to electronics retailer Media Markt, DIY chain Praktiker and supermarket chain Real, will cost €100 million.

The scheme will comprise 116,000 sqm of space, 147 shops, service outlets, cafes and restaurants, as well as a parking lot for 1,200 cars. It will be one of the largest shopping malls in northeastern Poland and the biggest one in the city, twice the size of Olsztyn’s Alfa shopping center, which is currently the largest.

The investment has already been 59 percent leased out, with Zara and H&M among its tenants. It will also boast a fitness club, an amphitheater, a sports field and, in winter, an ice-skating rink.

The building’s design, with its facade covered with a spider web-like construction, was done by APA Kuryłowicz & Associates architects, who found their inspiration in the Airspace Tokyo building. The idea for the unconventional interior design comes from Bose International.

Olsztyn City Hall issued a construction permit on January 4 and the investor began construction two weeks later. Construction work has continued despite harsh weather conditions.

The mall is scheduled to open in October 2014, five years after the project was made public. The delay was due to legal issues with the 50,000-sqm plot that Libra Project bought from the University of Warmia and Mazury.

First the construction was up in the air because the investor could not get a permit to build an access road. Olsztyn City Hall didn’t consent to another intersection being built in the area and the neighboring supermarket didn’t want to share its access road with Galeria Warmińska. When the city finally approved the construction of an access road, the investor had to wait for the local zoning plan and the land had to be examined by archeologists.
The investor behind the scheme is businessman Dariusz Miłek, president of footwear retailer NG2. Mr Miłek previously invested in the 70,000 sqm Cuprum Arena retail center in Lublin and is also involved in the Korona Kielce shopping center scheme in Kielce and Galeria Goplana in Leszno.

Karolina Kowalska