Food court renovation for Arkadia

The work, which is to start on February 7th, should be completed by the end of August this year. Eight stores on the ground floor are to be enlarged by a combined total of 200 sqm. As a result the food court, which is located directly above, will also gain an extra 200 sqm. The area will have new seating for 800 people. (Currently there are seats for 300) “The food court will have a new image; tenants’ outlets will be refurbished using some of the best materials. Moreover, the food court will gain a green area including a waterfall and a special children’s area,” said Rafał Bardzki, a project manager at Unibail-Rodamco. The modernisation will not result in a change of food court tenants. Further changes will take place in the centre. On the second floor near the Sony store, a children’s section is to be created, which will either occupy an area of 500 sqm or of 1,000 sqm. The section will include recreational and education areas as well as a section with an entrance fee. “We have talked to a lot of operators who are interested in opening outlets in this location. We are exploring the current concepts from both Poland and Europe. However, we would like the place to include an educational section as well as a playground. We are in negotiations with a number of possible tenants including the Copernicus Science Centre,” clarified Jakub Skwarło, the head of operations for Poland in Unibail-Rodamco. The cost of the project is estimated at PLN 20 mln. The work has been entrusted to RD Bud while Sud Architectes is responsible for the architectural concept. “Over the course of the work the centre will be open as usual. The work is to be carried out at night and the modernization of the outlets in the food court will be carried out in a number of stages so as to make sure that as many restaurants are open as possible,” added Jakub Skwarło. This year Arkadia celebrates its tenth anniversary. The centre offers a leasable area of 110,000 sqm and has an annual footfall of 21 mln.