NEPI Rockcastle NV, Europe’s third largest listed retail real estate company by portfolio value and one of the sector’s fastest growing brands, has opened a 5,000 sqm extension to its 37,500 sqm Pogoria Shopping Centre, in the Polish city of Dąbrowa Górnicza, to the northeast of Katowice, attracting seven new retailers to the mall. The centre is located just 200 metres from the city’s main railway station, with over 100 brands serving a catchment area of over a million people. It is one of the largest retail and entertainment hubs in Poland’s Zagłębie region.
The two-level extension, part of NEPI Rockcastle’s €870 million CEE portfolio development programme, was completed in just 15 months and has been let to Just GYM – open 24 hours a day, Fikołki – a spacious playroom for children, fashion brand Medicine, multi-brand retailer Worldbox and cosmetic company Verona.
One of Poland’s largest retail companies, CCC and clothing brand Diverse are moving to new stores in the extension, while online footwear and accessory brand eobuwie.pl and fashion brand Tatuum will open in their former locations. A significant aspect of the works was the reconstruction of the building’s facade, which has made the centre more visually cohesive with the surrounding urban environment.
This is the second expansion carried out by NEPI Rockcastle since it acquired the property in 2016, reinforcing Pogoria Shopping Centre’s position as one of the key shopping and leisure destinations in the region as part of the company’s asset optimisation strategy.
Łukasz Lorencki, Asset Manager at NEPI Rockcastle, said: “The decision to expand Pogoria was a natural step in response to the growing demand from both tenants and customers at this location. The new face of the shopping centre harmonises with the surrounding modern city landscape, and our investment cements the mall’s position as a growing retail and recreation destination in the region. We have brought new brands and amenities to Dąbrowa Górnicza to cater to the dynamically evolving tastes of residents and have also created new employment opportunities, which contribute to the revitalisation of the city centre and local economy as it modernises away from its traditional industrial base.”
Dąbrowa Górnicza is a post-industrial hub in Upper Silesia, Poland’s industrial heartland, historically built on coal mining and steel production. It sits atop one of the world’s thickest coal seams (up to 24 meters deep), parts of which are now a national geological reserve. The economy revolves around heavy industry, with ArcelorMittal’s steel plant (one of Poland’s largest) set to undergo a PLN 1 billion modernisation in 2025 to boost efficiency and reduce emissions. Seventeen major companies dominate the region, spanning automotive, plastics, electronics, glass manufacturing, construction, and logistics – reflecting its shift from pure mining to diversified manufacturing.
