The design for the first outdoors mall in Bulgaria - Strand in Burgas, has been prepared by the British firm GMW Architects, and the 60 000 sq m complex was subsequently approved and  granted a building permit in June, with King Strurge being the consulting firm. Total investment for the facility is expected to top 30 million euro.

"Construction works are earmarked to commenced in August, and, according to the preliminary plans, the facility should be operational by November 2010," Mariela Ostend, investment director of the investor company ZBS Ltd has said, as quoted by Stroitelstvo Gradut.

According to her, "the mild sea climate of Bourgas is one of the main reasons behind the concept for an outdoors shopping mall,  facilitated with spacious pedestrian zones and a main street atmosphere".

Open-air malls have lower operational costs compared to traditional malls, making them more profitable. Retailers prefer open-air malls because real estate taxes, utility costs and common area costs are much lower than in enclosed malls. This is largely because department store anchors at enclosed malls typically do not pay for rent, land or development, and costs are passed on to other tenants.

The shopping mall will offer 30 000 sq m of retail space, a further 8000 sq m of pedestrian and recreational zones and about 18 000 to 19 000 sq m allocated for car parks. The entire complex will be built on a parcel of more than 60 000 sq m along the motorway to Sofia.

Source: propertywisebulgaria.