Sofia retail market welcomes 130,000 sq m Bulgaria Mall

The mall has a total built-up area of 130,000 square metres (sq m), including 33,000 sq m of leasable area, and four underground parking levels for over 1,100 cars, Salamanca Group Ltd. and London Sofia Property told SeeNews in an email.

The project also features a 100 metre office tower with 22,000 sq m of leasable space that will be completed in 18 months.

The launch of Bulgaria Mall marks the entry on the local market of UK department store chain Debenhams. Other anchor tenants include retailer Carrefour, fashion chain H&M and electronics retailer Technopolis. Visitors will have a pick among over 120 shops in total.

The construction of the mall was launched in 2008.

There has been one notable launch on Bulgaria’s retail market so far this year. The opening of the Galleria Burgas shopping mall in the coastal city of Burgas in the first half of 2012 added 35,000 sq m to the country's stock of shopping centrе net leasable space which at the time stood at 630,000 sq m.

In July, real estate consultancy Colliers said the planned launch by the end of the year of Bulgaria Mall and another large-scale retail scheme in Sofia, Paradise Center, was set to deliver a combined 113,000 sq m of leasable retail space to the market.