Investor wants to expand the Šantovka shopping center in Olomouc

Olomouc - The company Office Park Šantovka plans to significantly expand the shopping center Galerie Šantovka, which opened in 2013 near the historical center of Olomouc and is among the ten largest shopping complexes in the country. The new four-story extension will feature 80 stores and six hundred parking spaces. If the investor obtains all necessary permits, they plan to build the new section of the shopping center in 2019 and 2020. CTK today received this information from the EIA database.

Galerie Šantovka, which currently has two hundred stores, stands on the site of the bankrupt company Milo. The shopping center has a sales area of 46,000 square meters. The upcoming extension, which will have a usable area of 51,300 square meters, will create 80 units with a total area of 23,300 square meters.

"The construction involves the expansion of the Galerie Šantovka shopping center towards the east on the area of the existing parking lot, children’s playground, and part of the open space for construction," states the announcement from Office Park Šantovka.

Most of the third floor of the extension is reserved for a theater with 500 seats. The new part of the shopping center is planned to be connected to the original Galerie Šantovka by a bridge over the Mlýnský stream, tram line, and pedestrian zone. The project also includes a children's playground and a bridge for cyclists.

The visitor numbers of the shopping center have gradually increased since its opening in the autumn of 2013. Last year, a record more than eight million people visited it. Compared to 2015, attendance rose by one-fifth.

At the same time, the profitability of Galerie Šantovka is increasing. While in 2012, when the construction of the shopping center began, Galerie Šantovka reported a loss of 49 million crowns, a year later, shortly after opening, its operation soared to a profit of 6.7 million crowns.

In 2014, Galerie Šantovka's profit rose to 43.8 million crowns, and the year before last, it was nearly 70 million crowns. Last year, by the end of August, Galerie Šantovka reported a profit of 45 million crowns. Data for the entire year of 2016 have not yet been published.

The shopping center Galerie Šantovka is part of the project for a new urban district, where the construction of the controversial tall building Šantovka Tower is also planned. "At present, project documentation is being prepared for zoning proceedings. The anticipated implementation date is from October 2020," commented the authors of the shopping center expansion project. Šantovka Tower is to be built in close proximity to the extension.

According to some experts, Šantovka Tower may damage the skyline of the historic center of Olomouc. According to entrepreneur Richard Morávek, who is involved in the Šantovka project, such concerns are unfounded.

Shopping centers are increasing in number in Olomouc. In 2012, Galerie Moritz was opened in a renovated building of the former Prior near Horní náměstí. Another center, Olomouc City, with the hypermarket Globus, has been functioning for several years next to road R35, and the Olympia shopping complex is operational between Olomouc and the village of Velký Týnec.