Mitiska REIM, a specialist investor in European convenience real estate, announced the expansion of its joint venture partnership with Karuzela Holding with the opening of a new food-anchored retail park in the Polish city of Biala Podlaska.
Featuring 28 units with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 17,700 sqm and parking for 860 cars, the new Biala Podlaska development has become the dominant retail scheme in the city of 55,000 inhabitants. Located on a highly visible site on a main artery road and close to residential areas, the retail park is easily accessible by car, public transport, bicycle and foot.
Food anchored by a Lidl supermarket, the retail park is 100 percent let to a high-quality tenant mix which includes Reserved, Action, Kik, Tedi, Media Expert, Dealz, Pepco, New Yorker and Sinsay. Also opened on-site as a retail anchor is an owner-occupied Agata Meble furniture store with a GLA of 7,000 sqm and a 3,300 sqm Bricomarche DIY is planned to open at the end of this year. These together will bring the total GLA of the retail destination to 28,000 sqm. In terms of sustainability, the new retail park is designed to achieve a “Very Good” score on the BREEAM scale.
Grzegorz Pekalski, Member of the Board of Karuzela Holding, comments: “For this new Karuzela retail development, we saw an opportunity to acquire an urban infill location in an off-market transaction and, by arranging the required permitting for the site, to develop a modern, sustainable and convenient retail destination for the city.”
Radoslaw Misko, Senior Investment Associate at Mitiska REIM, adds: “These urban infill locations are an opportunity that we look for in Poland, where we can become the most important modern convenience retail destination in the city. As consumers trade down, stay local and continue to require essential goods such as groceries, we expect food-anchored retail parks and convenience centres will be key beneficiaries of these spending trends and remain a top choice for retailers, shoppers and investors.”
Sylvie Geuten-Carpentier, Managing Partner of Mitiska REIM, said: “Working in partnership with our local partners, we continue to see good opportunities both in Poland and across our other European markets, and are in a strong position in terms of our latest fundraising for the MEREP 3 fund. By keeping dry powder during volatile times, we have found significant success in making off-market acquisitions of both properties and portfolios at attractive pricing.”
Over the past five years, Mitiska REIM and Karuzela have significantly expanded their portfolio of convenience real estate assets in Poland. Currently, the portfolio consists of 9 standing assets and 6 development projects, representing a total GLA of 160,000 sqm. In the past 18 months, Mitiska REIM and Karuzela have also opened new retail parks and convenience centres in Kolobrzeg, Wagrowiec and Pulawy, and Mitiska REIM acquired Europa Centralna, a 67,000 sqm GLA retail centre in Gliwice on behalf of MEREP 3.
