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From Kay Haufe
Dresden. Just one and a half months to go until the second construction phase of the Kaufpark in Nickern is due to open. This will complete the newly built shopping center, the first part of which went into operation in September 2023. Until a few days ago, the opening date was still October 30 of this year, but now there is a new date.
Accordingly, customers will be welcomed in the second section on October 28. "The background to this is that this is a national holiday in the Czech Republic and we are expecting many Czech customers who want to use the day off to shop with us," says center manager Antje Arnold.
In addition, the store was closed again on October 31 due to Reformation Day, so October 28 would be better suited to give customers the opportunity to get to know the new Kaufpark at their leisure.
100 stores and restaurants
While customers stroll through the first construction phase, work is progressing rapidly behind the large event staircase with the huge LED screen in the second Kaufpark section. However, they are partitioned off with large plasterboard walls to protect them from prying eyes. "We have handed over all the retail space to the tenants, who started the interior work in August," says site manager Jens Kohnert.
The two fitters Stanislaw Chilmanowicz and Andreas Wlodarcak are glued to the store by Olympus & Hades The wall is lined with polystyrene panels that look very similar to whitewashed bricks. Next door Only move in and master painter Ronald Baum from Dresden sprays the walls and ceilings with white paint. The escalator has also already been installed and the TÜV will be coming to inspect it in the next few days.
There will be a total of 100 stores and restaurants throughout the Kaufpark when it opens. By comparison, there were 76 in the old Kaufpark, which was demolished in 2022. In future, the shopping center will offer 36,000 square meters of space for shopping and spending time, around 4,000 square meters more than before.
All stores and restaurants are located on the first floor. This can be reached via the parking lot at ground level or via escalators from the upper parking level. Only the three townhouses, which form the entrance to the new center on the corner of Dohnaer and Tschirnhausstraße, have upper floors. A large children's area and the center management of Kaufpark Dresden will be located there.
Customers can then stroll past the stores on two sides, in the middle there is the center info, several restaurants and the large event staircase. The two marketplaces are located to the right and left. There will be seven smaller stalls in the new one, mainly offering take-away food. Including the cinnamon bun vendor Cinnamooda Bohemian cuisine standone with French tacos, with Dunkin Donut, Falafel as well as Mexican dishes and bowls. A slightly larger area with seating has a Sushi restaurant rented.
In the entrance area in the townhouses, both Starbucks as well as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut in. There are outdoor terraces next to the main entrance.
Delivery bottleneck for glass windows
One of the largest tenants is TK Maxxwhich will be the only store with a sales area of around 1,500 square meters spread over two floors. They will be connected by an escalator in the store. Similarly large areas also have C&A as well as Intersport Hübner. Olymp & Hades will also be presenting its street fashion on around 1,000 square meters.
Site manager Jens Kohnert is currently receiving calls by the minute. The ventilation engineer in KFC's store is complaining, for example, that the sprinkler nozzles are getting in the way of installing the large ventilation pipes. Kohnert arranges a meeting between the two specialists. He also has to coordinate the trucks in the loading zone that are constantly delivering materials for the store extension. "They have to register with us and sometimes have to allow for waiting times," says the site manager.
He is concerned that not all of the large glass windows for the three townhouses have been delivered yet, even though the deadline is long overdue. The façade builders are unable to install the wood-like cladding, and the openings must first be covered with wooden panels. "That's double the work, which costs time and money. But we are powerless." However, this does not jeopardize the opening date.
The entrance area of the shopping center can also only be fully designed once the facades have been completed. "There is little space there and we have to coordinate everything well."
Children's party with carousel opening
The center manager has already planned a surprise before the opening. "On September 28, exactly one month before the opening, we will be pushing the children's carousel, which is set up in the lower parking lot at the entrance, together with customers at 2 pm. We have prepared a nice children's party and hope that lots of little guests will come."
The small children's train, which was built in Austria, will start its maiden voyage on opening day on October 28. It does not run on rails, but will be an electric vehicle on wheels in the outdoor area of the Kaufpark.
