As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, judging by the ambitious announcements and plans that have been seen so far, the gorgeous Istrian city of Pula could get another shopping centre instead of a dilapidated department store in the city centre – Pula Mall.
A devastated, neglected, once attractive building in the centre, right next to the green market, could soon return to its old glory in a new, even better edition as another Pula shopping centre finally looms. This was announced at the last session of the City Council by Mayor Filip Zoricic, in which it was said that this large project would soon begin to be realised. He touched on the situation with the market itself at the Council, saying that it doesn’t look good, and that it seems ridiculous as Pula boasts one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings in the entire Mediterranean, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century.
The wish of Pula’s city administration is to bring this dilapidated old building back to life, following the example of Florence in neighbouring Italy, so they plan to revitalise it with additional gastronomic offers and other content, Glas Istre writes.
Zoricic also pointed out the need to arrange locations on both sides of the market, and in that context he also mentioned the potential new Pula shopping centre/department store.
”We’re going to talk to the employers, make a plan and see how we might solve the appearance and condition of our main market, and that this is accompanied by the renovation of the department store,” said Zoricic. In a conversation with the owner’s representative, they agreed to clean up the area in November, and the new Pula shopping centre, he said, would get not only a new car park, but also a slow food restaurant, two shops from well-known brands and more. “It’s a unique space, the very heart of the city and it needs to look nicer than it does today,” he said.
This was confirmed in a telephone conversation by Predrag Djordjevic, the project manager, who said that the building is owned by the Luxembourg project company Istria Real Estate, which in turn is owned by the British York Capital. Djordjevic is very optimistic when it comes to the realisation of this ambitious project. If everything goes according to plan, it will be part of the urban renewal of the city, which, according to the idea of the Mayor of Pula, should finally breathe some life back into the otherwise somewhat overlooked centre.
The interlocutor confirmed to them that there will be a new car park with 150 spaces in the basement of the new Pula shopping centre. He also provided a visualisation of the future, renovated building, which has already been named – Pula Mall. He says that this is a project in which as much as 130 million kuna will be invested.
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