Owner Wereldhave Finland is also reviewing the tenant mix for the centre. It is currently involved in negotiations with a number of key international retail chains seeking to enter Finland.

Stockmann Department Store currently anchors the centre, which has 120,300 square metres of retail space and over 250 stores.  It will continue to do so from a new location at the end of the main mall, scheduled to open at the end of 2013. This relocation allows the creation of 12,000 m2 of prime retail accommodation for leasing to new tenants.  The entire renovation and remodeling will create approximately 11,000 square metres of  additional  commercial space in a series of phases.

Derek Barker, Managing Director at UK-based Haskoll, lead design and concept architect on the project, said: “This is a fabulous project. The new design will maximise commercial opportunities in the centre and provide a modern shopper environment. Work is progressing phase by phase, a difficult job as tenants must be relocated while continuing to trade.”

He added: “This is a good example of a centre owner’s recognition of the need to rejuvenate successful but aging retail environments.”

The centre has been renamed Itis, as it is already widely known in the local community, and a rebranding exercise is  under way.

Jaakko Ristola Managing Director, Wereldhave Finland Ristola believes that a shopping centre can no longer be a static space where stores open in the morning and close in the evening: “Shopping centres are as much providers of services as social meeting places, where people spend their time in comfortable surroundings. This trend can be seen all over the world,” He said.

The redevelopment by Wereldhave Finland has been driven by the growing number of inhabitants of nearby areas Vuosaari, Sipoonranta, Kruunuvuori, Myllypuro and Viikki.

JonesLangLaSalle has been retailed as leasing consultant and Laker Developments are the Development Managers.

The project, due for completion in March 2013, will be undertaken by Danica Pension, in co-operation with its shopping centre management arm, Danica Ejendomme. It has appointed UK-based designer outlet specialist Ream International as the development, management and leasing consultant on the project.

The project will be Denmark’s largest designer outlet centre and is to be created in an existing enclosed environment to comprise no less than 80 store units.

Steve Armitage, managing director, of Ream International said: “We believe this will provide a tremendous boost to City 2 and Copenhagen, with shoppers having access to the very best in international fashion retailing at an affordable price.

“The tenant mix will comprise high quality international and Scandinavian brands carefully chosen to create the optimum shopping experience. There is already a high level of interest in CDO generated by preliminary marketing efforts which is set to further increase following the official marketing launch at the annual MAPIC retail property event in Cannes, South of France, this November,” added Armitage.

Bjarke Bendix Cloos, Senior Vice President in Danica Pension. ”The conditions for Copenhagen Designer Outlets are optimum. City 2 is one of the capital’s largest centres with thousands of free parking bays and excellent connections to both the S-train and buses.  The investment is part of the plans to make the Høje Taastrup area west of Copenhagen even more attractive,”

A street-style layout will be created internally using high quality materials and finishes to reflect the stature of the designers and high quality brands occupying the store units.

Derek Barker, managing director at Haskoll, said: “The new Copenhagen Designer Outlets is an excellent reuse of a redundant retail space which formerly housed a hypermarket and Eigiganten, the Danish electrical retailer.”

There are over 3,000 parking spaces already on site and the exterior fabric and landscape is being upgraded to reflect the quality of the designer outlet offer.

A dramatic new entrance is being created fronting the scheme with a second entrance adjacent to the entertainment offer comprising approx. 4,000m2 of restaurants, a play area and a 10-screen cinema.

The location already attracts 4 million visitors a year and with Ikea and other major “big box” retailers nearby the area is a well known shopping destination for the whole of Denmark and international tourists.

It is estimated that Copenhagen Designer Outlets will attract some 1.5 million visitors in the first year.

City 2 was opened on 30 October 1975 at 12 pm.   Copenhagen Designer Outlet is scheduled to open in Spring 2013.

John Geeson, a director of the award-winning practice, was speaking as the dramatic glass twin towers of Ilford’s new landmark development Pioneer Point, designed by Haskoll for Empire Property Group International Ltd, move towards completion by the end of 2011.

He said: “Retail real estate development funded a large proportion of city regeneration over the last decade. Much has been phenomenally successful in reinvigorating declining towns and cities but it has often come at an increased cost.”

The Haskoll-designed Pioneer Point is a mixed-use development on the site of the town’s former Pioneer Market Site.  It is already a distinctive marker for Ilford town centre with its 35-storey North Tower and 27-Storey South Tower. The project is part of Redbridge council’s Ilford Area Action Plan driving regeneration along the Crossrail corridor. Haskoll’s London-base team designed the building to meet high sustainability standards it hopes will be followed by future developments across East London.

Haskoll’s John Geeson said: “This type of development, producing around 3300 habitable rooms per hectare, reduces pressure on the surrounding and infinitely precious resource of green-belt land. We believe that high quality mixed use developments of this type are also necessary for Ilford to maintain its position as a significant retail centre and desirable residential location, backed up with efficient services and transport links. It will also provide the local population with a variety of employment opportunities. Most importantly, it is affordable.”

Work recommenced on site in January last year. The project had previously stalled after original contractors, Lanscville Construction Ltd, went into administration in 2009.  Since the project was taken over by London & Regent Construction Management Ltd with Haskoll as architects and lead consultants, progress has been impressive.

The development for Empire Property Group, on a site that is only 0.216 hectares, consists of 294 residential apartments across the two towers, 72,000 square feet of lettable commercial floor space and basement car park for 60 resident’s cars and 130 bicycles. Pioneer Point is three minutes walk from Ilford railway station – a short 15-minute commute to Liverpool Street and the city of London.

Editors notes

Haskoll

Haskoll is an award-winning design-led architectural practice with offices in London and Beijing. For more than 30 years its teams have worked on retail-based, mixed-use commercial developments and the business is known globally for its retail and leisure designs, urban integration, regeneration and particularly for sustainable design maximising commercial opportunities.

www.haskoll.co.uk

Empire Property Group
 International Limited

EPGI Ltd is a London headquartered innovative, design-led real estate development company whose range of activities comprise residential, commercial and retail development. It has enjoyed sustained success and growth in the industry over the past decade and will shortly open further offices in New York and Abu Dhabi.

www.epgi.com