HELSINKI, April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

CITYCON OYJ  - Press release - 20 April 2017 at 11:30 

The second phase of the extension and (re)development project of Iso Omena shopping centre located in Matinkylä, Helsinki area is now complete and the expanded shopping centre opened today, 20 April. Iso Omena is currently almost fully leased, with an occupancy rate of 98%.

Iso Omena has over 100,000 square metres (sq.m.) of gross leasable area, of which retail premises cover 88,000 sq.m. With more than 200 different shops and services, Iso Omena is among Finland's largest shopping centres.

The end station of the first phase of the Länsimetro metro line and the bus terminal for feeder traffic are located under the shopping centre, which makes Iso Omena a strong public transport hub and the heart of southern Espoo. The catchment area of Iso Omena is developing strongly: by 2030 the population in its primary catchment area is expected to grow by 24%.

Since the opening of the extension's first phase in August 2016, Iso Omena's number of visitors and sales have increased by 30%. Citycon expects Iso Omena's annual footfall to grow to 14.5 million once the entire project is completed. Länsimetro and the bus terminal for feeder traffic will bring 35,000 daily passengers to Iso Omena. 

The M.E.E.T concept increases the share of restaurants 

The second phase of the extension saw the opening of Iso Omena's restaurant world M.E.E.T (Meet, Eat, Enjoy, Together), which houses more than 30 different restaurants. When taking into account the other restaurants in the shopping centre, Iso Omena has around 50 different cafés and restaurants. M.E.E.T is Finland's largest uniform restaurant area located inside a shopping centre and a new urban meeting place consisting of a variety of high-quality restaurants.

Also the leisure offering sets Iso Omena apart. Finnkino's new cinema will be directly connected to the M.E.E.T area. The final seal for Iso Omena's entertainment offering will be the 4,000 sq.m. Dudesons Activity Park, which will open next autumn. It will be the first time for an adventure park to be inside a shopping centre in Finland. 

"The share of leisure and restaurants increases to 20% of the gross leasable area at Iso Omena. Customers wanting to combine shopping with eating at a restaurant is an international trend. We want to make our shopping centres into urban crosspoints that offer diverse services for the surrounding communities. Iso Omena is a perfect example of this," says Jurn Hoeksema, Chief Operating Officer at Citycon. 

Several international brands and strong anchors

At the core of Iso Omena's offering are also strong retail brands. Zara opened its first store in Espoo already in early April. The second phase included the openings of Levi's Store, L'Occitane and Esprit. Other strong fashion anchors are H&M, Superdry and Peak Performance.

The grocery retail offering in Iso Omena is exceptionally wide. Lidl is today opening a new store on the same level that already includes strong grocery anchors K-Citymarket and Prisma. Groceries cover almost a quarter of Iso Omena's gross leasable area.

Iso Omena's new children's world also opens today. It will include a free playing area and modern childcare facilities, something that our customers have found important. The tenants of the children's world include for example Polarn O. Pyret, Reima and a BR-Lelut toy store. 

Opened in connection with the first phase of the extension, the City of Espoo's 6,000 sq.m. service square has become a significant anchor tenant. The concept has been a great success and the annual number of visitors is expected to be 1.5 million.

"Iso Omena is an excellent combination of public and private services accompanied by strong retail brands. The shopping centre has been an established shopping venue for a long time. The restaurant world M.E.E.T and extensive entertainment offering form a new cornerstone for Iso Omena and make it the most interesting leisure hub in the Helsinki area," says Sanna Yliniemi, Commercial Director at Citycon.   

Iso Omena's extension and (re)development project started in early summer 2013. The project lasted for four years and included the construction of approximately 40,000 sq.m. of new gross leasable area. The total investment for the project was EUR 270 million.

The first phase of the extension has received the platinum-level LEED environmental certification.

Additional information:

Jurn Hoeksema, Chief Operating Officer
Tel. +46-70-385-1059
jurn.hoeksema@citycon.com

Sanna Yliniemi, Commercial Director
Tel. +358-41-456-3421
sanna.yliniemi@citycon.com 

Citycon Oyj (Nasdaq Helsinki: CTY1S) is a leading owner, developer and manager of urban grocery-anchored shopping centres in the Nordic and Baltic regions, managing assets that total EUR 5 billion and with market capitalisation of EUR 2 billion. For more information about Citycon, please visit www.citycon.com

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SOURCE Citycon Oyj