The Galeria Amber shopping and entertainment centre, which is being developed by Echo Investment in Kalisz, has obtained a BREEAM Interim certificate with a ‘very good’ grade and a very high score of 67.15 pct.

“Such a high score at the design stage is a source of great joy for us and it confirms the modern character of our project,” says Rafał Kornatko, project manager in the Shopping Centre Department at Echo Investment. The BREEAM Interim certificate is awarded by the BRE Global (Building Research Establishment) organization on the basis of the materials and a report drawn up by a licensed assessor. The factors that were taken into consideration in the process, which is being carried out for Echo Investment by Grontmij Polska, included: the demand for energy, the selection of its source, the amount of impurities generated and their management. Echo Investment has a lot of certified projects to its credit. Its Galaxy shopping and entertainment centre in Szczecin obtained a BREEAM In-Use certificate in May earlier this year. Strict ecological standards are also fulfilled by its office developments: Oxygen in Szczecin has two certificates: BREEAM In-Use and GreenBuidling. Last year the office buildings Aquarius Business House in Wrocław and Park Rozwoju in Warsaw acquired BREEAM Interim certificates. Two other office projects developed by Echo have GreenBuilding certificates which they acquired earlier, they are: Park Postępu located in Warsaw"s Mokotów district and the Astra Park office buildings in Kielce. Galeria Amber is a four-storey shopping and entertainment centre, which is being developed in the centre of Kalisz, in the vicinity of the main bus and railway stations, at the junction of Górnośląska Street and Trasa Bursztynowa Street. Its leasable area amounts to 33,500 sqm.
The construction of the project is progressing according to schedule. E.Leclerc hypermarket took over its area at the beginning of July. The commercialization of the project is nearing the end. Contracts have already been signed with the key tenants: the E.Leclerc hypermarket, a Helios cinema, H&M, C&A, New Yorker, RTV Euro AGD, Reserved, House, Deichmann, Mohito, Cropp Town,  Sinsay, Matras, CCC, Rossmann, 4F, Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Puma and Lee Wrangler. The facility will have a hypermarket as well as 140 shops and service outlets including cafes and restaurants. There is also a 7-screen cinema planned, the operator of which will be Helios. Customers will be able to use approx. 1,000 parking spaces. The preliminary architectural concept of Galeria Amber was developed by Bose International Planning and Architecture while Artur Jasiński i Wspólnicy Biuro Architektoniczne Sp. z o.o. and Echo Investment"s team of architects are the authors of its construction design. Galeria Amber is to be opened in the spring of 2014. www.galeria-amber.com.pl