Spanish mall developer Riofisa presented on February 13 its plans for a 270-million-euro retail compound in Sofia, to be built near Sofia’s central railway and bus stations, which is expected to improve the infrastructure and environment in this part of the city. The compound, to be called Civis Center, will be built in two stages, including a modern commercial and entertainment centre - “the largest in Bulgaria,” according to Juan Merino, general manager of the shopping centre division of Riofisa - and a 130-metre tower, which will house offices and a hotel. The construction of the three-storey retail centre, comprising more than 250 retail and entertainment units, in the first phase will cost 270 million euro. The mall will have 3 927 parking slots, a 13 500 sq m hypermarket on the ground floor, many service-providing workshops such as a dry-cleaners, shoe-rеpairers, pharmacies, beauty parlours and bank offices. The commercial development will have a total built-up area of 280 000 sq m, a leasable area of 77 820 sq m and will create 1 700 new jobs. Construction is scheduled to start in the near future and will be completed by end-2010. Civis Centre's second phase will have a gross actual area of 170 000 sq m and will comprise offices, a residential complex (with as much as 6 000 housing units) and a parking lot. However, it is still on the drawing board stage and company officials could not provide a detailed plan and exact cost of the investment. After completion the large multi-purpose compound will feature about 7 000 parking places. Civis Centre will provide services from more than two million people – residents of Sofia and surrounding areas - according to the Spanish executives. The executives also explained the importance of business centres and residential complexes for urban regeneration. The complex will have excellent communications, providing access to metro, bus and train services. Pedestrian passages between different stations will facilitate the flow of commuters and the underground tunnel, moving below the railway station, will relieve the traffic in the region. RTKL, a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Arcadis, and architect Atanas Panov’s studio are involved in elaborating the architecture and design. Construction will be carried out by a Bulgarian company yet to be designated. It is interesting to note that Spanish real estate company Urbas has purchased a 12ha plot in the central railway station region and plans to create a similar project to Riofisa’s development there. If both Spanish companies manage to implement their projects successfully, the image of the whole region will change. Riofisa plans to develop five to six commercial establishments in Bulgaria. Last September they presented their project for a multi-purpose compound in Plovdiv, estimated at 175 million euro. They have also set their sights on Varna and Bourgas, but company officials did not provide details. Riofisa has been granted first-class investment certificates for its developments in Sofia and Plovdiv. Riofisa, a part of the Colonial property group, is the leader in the development of commercial centres in Spain with a 21-project portfolio (17 of them in Spain) with a total leasable area of 1.2 million sq m. Apart from Bulgaria, the company has projects in the Romanian cities of Timisoara and Brasov cities and is looking to expand towards Turkey, Serbia and Croatia.