The Liberec Plaza shopping center will open at the end of March

Liberec - The Plaza shopping center in the center of Liberec will welcome its first customers by the end of March. It was originally supposed to open its stores last November. The official reason for the delay was late delivery of materials and equipment necessary for completing the shopping center's interior. According to unofficial sources, however, it was primarily due to a shortage of tenants. Currently, the center is more than half occupied, said Michaela Dvořáková from Best Communications, which represents Plaza, today to ČTK.
    The new shopping center was built by Plaza Centers in the center of Liberec, in close proximity to the historic town hall. The extensive complex offers, in addition to stores, parking for 490 vehicles, offices, and five luxury apartments. It was constructed on a site that had long been marred by a large construction pit filled with water. Nevertheless, it has provoked mixed reactions. Heritage conservationists criticized the construction of the complex, arguing that such a large mass does not belong in the historic center, while many citizens would prefer greenery to yet another shopping center in the center.
    Currently, the department store is practically completed. It offers 19,000 square meters of retail space, and about 120 companies are supposed to offer their shops and services there. Among the tenants are Nico, CCC Shoes, Discovery, Exe Jeans, Uncle Sam, Fantasy Park, and several other brands. Recently, Benetton and Sephora have also joined. "Liberec Plaza will introduce a new dimension in the field of entertainment and shopping; I am sure that our project will help revive social life in the center of Liberec," said Tal Ben Yehuda, director of Plaza Centers Czech Republic.
    Plaza is not the only similar project in Liberec. In the so-called lower city center, work is intensively underway on the first phase of the Forum shopping center, which is being built by the Dutch group Multi Development. Although the complex is largely covered in scaffolding, it is expected to welcome its first customers in the last week of February. Initially, however, the investor wanted to open it, like Plaza, before last Christmas, but construction was delayed. Only the Nisa shopping center on the outskirts of Liberec successfully opened on time. The largest shopping and entertainment complex in northern Bohemia opened its stores last October.
    The construction of the Liberec Gallery by the German group ECE Projektmanagement has faced even greater delays. Although work on the 2.7 billion CZK project began over a year ago, there is still just a huge construction pit at the site of the future complex. According to original plans, the gallery was supposed to open by the end of this year. However, due to a dispute with Multi Development, which is building across the street, construction has halted and arbitration threatens in the Czech Republic. ECE intends to claim up to a billion CZK for the foiled investment. According to the Aktuálně.cz website, this was also one of the reasons why the Minister for Regional Development Jiří Čunek resigned from his position. However, he denied it.