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The last time we opened Corvin Plaza in 2010 was in a new square in Budapest (except for Árkád2 delivered in 2013, which was an extension of the Őrs vezér tér unit), but it will soon open at the second busiest intersection in the capital , Kelenföld train station – Etele tér, its gates – nicknamed – the “Etele”.
Starting September 3, 2021, you can shop at the 55,000-square-foot Etele Plaza stores with a 136,000-square-foot leasable area, dine in the upstairs food court, sit on the landscaped rooftop terrace, or watch a movie in the VIP section of the cinema.
The original opening was planned a bit earlier by the developer, Tibor Tatár, Executive Director of Futureal During the crawl, he said about the delay that:
We would have already opened in March, but the tenants were struggling with a shortage of goods, so they wanted to postpone the departure. The fact that we are in agreement required a great financial sacrifice for us, not only for the rent lost during the first half of the year, but also for the renegotiated bank contract and the interest already payable. Retailers are unfortunate for many, but it is not entirely true that the largest are not in a difficult situation.
Before we get into the more interesting details and pictures, let’s say a few words about the basic concept of the plaza, which is not only interesting after 10 years of inactivity, but also because it was built by Futureal at a time when the function of the Classic squares can be transformed. A few years ago, surely many still expected that physical purchases would lose their dominance and shopping centers would no longer have a reason to exist. However, experience shows that “buying” cannot go out of style, we simply need physical stores, of course with online shopping options. At the same time, it is also true that the main purpose of a mandatory visit to a shopping center is no longer the mandatory purchase, because it is there online, but clearly the experience.
During the planning of Etele Plaza, a prominent role was given to additional services in addition to the purchase, the functions and the commercial and tenant composition were designed to serve both the 70-80 thousand premises that live 10 minutes away, as well as to the more distant residents of Buda, who would arrive by car or public transport, and so far mainly Mammut or MOM Park has been their closest or number one choice.
15 curiosities about the last shopping center in Budapest:
- The first tenant has already moved: Peek & Cloppenburg will take over its two-story, 4,000-square-meter commercial space on the 16th, and will soon be followed by the Inditex Group, which will have a unique presence in the South with all its available brands in Hungary (Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Bershka, Oysho)
- The plaza has a total of four floors, shops on the ground floor, 1st and 2nd floors, and a food court and gym on the 3rd floor, among others.
- During construction, an attempt was made for customers to enter the square from various places, by car this is possible from two directions, from below and from above, that is, from the underground garage, from the rooftop parking lot.
- The elevators are unobstructed like in other shopping centers and look more like hotel elevators than a gray box. The floors can also be reached by escalators at two locations, which are located at both ends of the plaza.
- The cinema and the rooftop parking lot are on the same level, which means that you can even go to the cinema at the last minute without having to walk all over the mall.
- 1,300 parking spaces have been created, divided into underground garages and rooftop parking.
- Up to 10% of the parking spaces will be suitable for charging electric cars.
- The developer also made a roof terrace, anyone can go out to the garden area to have a coffee or lunch.
- The gym’s huge glass windows overlook Etele Road and a park.
- On the first and second floors, the middle part of the square can also be described as a mini piazza, this larger square is home to cafes and restaurants, as well as the possibility of passing between the two aisles.
- The proportion of experiences in the mall exceeds 20 percent. In addition to the smallest innovations: you will get to know sports opportunities, the largest food court in Hungary or even a selfie point.
- The plaza will have a separate application, this will have internal navigation in real time, that is, you will not have to search for stores on a traditional map, but you can even set which parking lot and area is closest to the given store at home and after parking , the walking function helps you get to the store you are looking for. Parking can also be paid on the app, but even customized, customers can request notification of the promotion of their favorite store.
- A loyalty program will also be introduced, and the points earned in this way can be spent on paid services or even a beer in the information bar, which can be called a “men’s store”. Various services will also be available in the VIP category: parking lots, toilets, cinema.
- There are three types of sinks. In many places, it is a big problem for homeless people to use the toilets in shopping malls (which is obviously inconvenient or embarrassing for all parties), so for this purpose (i.e. for homeless people bathe) the developer designed a room on the side. of the building accessible from the outside. Standard bathrooms will be free, while VIP categories will be subject to a fee.
- There are several ways to help you navigate your way around the house: with ceiling signs, level gauges, and information displays next to the escalator.
Let the photos of the plaza under construction come!
What is the reason why there is no direct underground connection to the train station?
About architectural solutions Tibor Tatár and Márk Balástyai He spoke to us while tracking. Our first question that came up was why there is no direct connection between the train station and Etele. Tibor Tatár said that
There are too many utilities and canals running under Somogyi út, which would not have been worth a complete remodel, but instead we are planning a rain-protected surface glass corridor. The capital also supports us in this, it is hoped that we can connect the train station and the square next year.
Tibor Tatár is the CEO of Futureal Development Zrt. Since 2005 he has been managing the development activities of commercial and urban rehabilitation projects implemented in Hungary and Romania. Tartar
Next
We also learned that various population surveys were conducted before and during development. On the one hand, it turned out that 70-80 percent of visitors to home shopping centers come by public transport, so they expect 75 percent here, which is particularly good news for Etele Plaza due to its location. . On the other hand, the needs of those who arrive by car show that many people – 20-30 percent – prefer to walk, but prefer to stop in a surface car park, so in addition to the 1,300 car parks built, the 500 P + El R car park in Kelenföld can be a nice addition. These are generally booked from 8 am to 4 pm, but are almost empty on weekends and in the afternoon, or even during the Advent period, which is problematic for parking.
We live in an age of online shopping. How to develop a square in this case?
Tibor Tatár Based on 10 years of developer experience and needs assessments, you expect positive expectations:
All the research is about to have a big spike, everyone is eager to go shopping for free.
Regarding the composition of the tenants, it turned out that Etele Plaza will be the place where the magnetic tenants will be present in the greatest number and with the largest floor area. For the operator, by the way, many brands that rent large stores are not always worth it because they pay less rent per unit than two small stores and due to the demands, they mean more setup costs for the operator.
Didn’t sacrifice for offline purchases
Across the ocean, the terms “buy” and “shopping” are already divided into two in online and offline shopping. For a while, “buying” is even stronger, but it will shift to “buying” because people are looking for experiences.
– said the CEO, who said that e-commerce is really getting stronger, but is not afraid of it at all, as he said, if the share of online shopping increases to 30 percent, the remaining 70 percent for physical purchases is significant, and wants a big slice in the future, the Etele Plaza will be ripped off.
For example, the Inditex Group had the strongest quarter of its traffic to date last year, and not only because of online purchases. You cannot put all the agreements under one hat, someone worse, someone much more affected by the past period.
The explosion of omnichannel (multichannel sales) has also sparked “showroom” types of businesses, and while it is conceivable that there is a store in the mall where customers don’t pull products off the shelf, but just come to buy -Order or look at the exhibited pieces, mostly in clothing stores, this will not be the main commercial strategy.
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