New Central department store in Jablonec welcomes its first customers

source: www.centraljablonec.cz

Jablonec nad Nisou - The new department store Central, which is being completed in Jablonec nad Nisou by the developer group Crestyl, will welcome its first customers on Friday, March 31. This should relieve traffic in the city center, which has been complicated for more than a year by the cars of hundreds of builders and craftsmen. Additionally, thanks to the new department store, nearly 200 new parking spaces will be added to the center.

"I expected that given the scale of the construction, the complications would be even greater. The most significant burden was when the internal units started to be built, and dozens of contractors came in. Three hundred to four hundred people worked there twenty hours a day, which caused enormous strain on the surrounding area, blocking intersections and parking lots," said Jablonec Mayor Petr Beitl (ODS) to ČTK.

According to him, the situation should gradually calm down with the opening of the department store. "Then we will evaluate the traffic model and see if it will be necessary to make Liberecká or Poštovní streets two-way, or possibly both," the mayor added.

Central Jablonec was built between General Mrázek and Máchova streets on the site of the old Jabloň department store, two parking lots, and a market. The construction of the complex also required the demolition of the old gymnasium and the wooden building of the Koliba restaurant. Crestyl has been preparing the construction since 2008. However, the project was delayed by the recession. Given the developments in the real estate market, the shopping center is now about a quarter smaller in terms of retail space than originally planned.

The shopping center will offer nearly 70 stores over an area of 13,000 square meters, with the largest being the Albert store. There will also be well-known fashion brands, sports goods, a bookstore, and a pharmacy. "We expect that on the opening day, we will have nearly 90 percent of the space occupied. We believe that with its uniqueness and complexity of offerings, Central Jablonec will significantly contribute to improving services, and thereby the quality of life for the city's residents and its visitors," noted the center's director Aleš Stupka.