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Évora: Shopping Centre Opens After €35M Investment
7 November 2017
The first shopping centre in Alentejo will open to the public on November 22nd, in Évora, six years after the start of construction, in a total investment of 35 million euros.
The Évora Plaza will officially be inaugurated on the 21st, in a ceremony reserved for guests, with the opening to the public scheduled for the following day, Ausa Capital’s marketing director, Tiago Oliveira, told Lusa today.
Évora Plaza has “93% of stores have been allocated,” predicting that “three or four” will start operating just after the inauguration.
“We are finalising some security details and carrying out some necessary tests having to do with the construction,” he said, adding that “the stores are almost all in the installation phase.”
Located in the industrial park of the Alentejo city, the shopping centre, which already passed through the names Évora Shopping and Évora Forum, was purchased from Novo Banco in March 2016 by Ares Capital.
Designed by the architectural office of Broadway Malyan, Évora Plaza presents a “modern, state-of-the-art architecture (which) will provide a balanced offer of fashion and lifestyle brands, leisure and catering, becoming the first and principal commercial destination for the inhabitants of the Alentejo region, as well as the many visitors.”
The retail area is complemented by a restaurant space, which includes a mix of regional, Portuguese and international cuisine, and the first cinema in the city of Évora, with five screens.
Built as a part of a commercial complex that involved an investment of 60 million euros, the shopping centre started construction in 2011 and was due to be completed in the autumn of 2013, but the works have been at a standstill for more than two years.
The project, which belonged to EVRET, a joint venture between Imorendimento and Madford Developments, was held by Novo Banco.
Following the transaction, the company, which is owned by a Dubai family that invests in real estate, construction resumed in June 2016.
The shopping centre, according to the official, has 77 stores in various business areas, including a supermarket and a catering area, as well as five movie theatres, kiosks and temporary stores.
The Évora Plaza, which will have about 1,200 parking spaces, both outdoors and covered, occupies a building of 20,000 square meters of construction area, with 16,400 sqm of gross leasable area, distributed over two floors.
The group had announced the mall’s inauguration for the 16th of this month, but the opening was postponed “six days” due to “a slight delay”, which “should not have a significant impact,” said Tiago Oliveira.
Original Story: Diário Imobiliário / Lusa
Translation: Richard Turner