Transformation of Cora Shopping centers ahead of schedule at halfway mark

Over 80% of retail space secured with new brands

Mitiska REIM, the leading specialist investor in European convenience real estate, has announced that the transformation of the seven Cora Shopping sites in Belgium is ahead of schedule at the halfway mark, with over 80% of the retail space secured with new brands.

Mitiska REIM acquired the original Cora hypermarkets and Shopping Cora Galleries in September last year on behalf of the MEREP 3 Fund, together with a dedicated co-investment vehicle. The sites are located in the Belgian cities of Anderlecht, Woluwe, Rocourt, Hornu, La Louviere, Chatelineau and Messancy, and have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 228,000m². Over the past nine months, Mitiska REIM has redeveloped the hypermarket spaces, splitting them into new retail units, and introduced a range of leading brands into the sites.

From January this year, the first new brands opened their doors across the seven locations, with store openings from Delhaize, DreamLand and Kiabi, plus Q8 petrol stations at each site. The next three months will see a further series of openings, including JYSK, Aldi, MediaMarkt, DreamBaby and Wibra.

To date, nearly 350 jobs have been created, with the project on track to create 1,400 jobs by the end of the redevelopment. The shops in the Shopping Cora Galleries have remained open for shoppers throughout and will also be upgraded as part of the wider transformation plan in the upcoming years.

Axel Despriet, co-founder and Managing Partner of Mitiska REIM, comments: “Just five months after finalizing the acquisition of the seven Cora sites, the first new stores were already open, with the redevelopment off to a strong start and the larger spaces already leased. As we now reach the halfway mark, we are very pleased with the progress and on track for the hypermarket redevelopment phase of the project to be completed by mid-September.”

Bram Thomas, Mitiska REIM’s Managing Director for Belgium, the Netherlands and France, adds: “This has been a large and complex redevelopment project, and we are proud of the success achieved to date. The arrival of so many well-known brands reaffirms the commercial appeal of the sites as they transform into modern, successful and sustainable grocery-anchored retail centres, designed to meet current and future needs of shoppers, tenants, and the local communities.”