In the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, Atterbury Europe has been doing its magic on the largest mall in the city, in a redevelopment project to revitalise and expand the Mall of Cyprus. We spoke to Atterbury Europe’s Development Manager, Pieter Olivier, about the progress on the project and the challenges of working abroad.

What is Atterbury Europe’s precise role in the expansion of the mall? 
As the owner of the Mall of Cyprus, Atterbury Europe is responsible for the operational management of the mall. We are furthermore also managing the full spectrum of activities related to the expansion project in-house, including the development management, leasing and tenant coordination.

You’ve just survived your second European winter, and it was a cold one, we believe – have you acclimatised? 
Well, fortunately with Cyprus being one of the southern-most countries in Europe the winters over here are very mild and comparable to what we have in Pretoria, so I can’t complain. Interestingly though, Cyprus gets some good snow on the high mountains and we managed to get some good skiing done this winter.

Are there big differences to doing the same job back home – what are the unique challenges you’ve come across being a “foreign” developer, if any? 
I think in essence the job remains the same. It is more a matter of understanding the capabilities of the professional team and contractors and aligning your expectations to that. That being said, this project has been very challenging due to other unrelated reasons, with the biggest challenge probably being the structural strengthening required in the basement while maintaining the smooth operation of the mall parking areas.

The Mall of Cyprus is already the biggest mall in Cyprus’s capital, Nicosia – why the decision to expand? What is the biggest need that you’ve identified in the area, that is being addressed in the process? 
Firstly, driving growth in value through development and expansion is one of the core strategies of Atterbury. Furthermore, as the strongest shopping node in Nicosia, there is strong demand for space from retailers previously not included in the mall, which we will address by expanding. We are also hoping to improve the overall shopping and leisure experience for our customers by refreshing an ageing mall.

When did the expansion process start and how far along are you now? 
We commenced with construction on 1 September 2017 and we have roughly a year left before we open the new wing to the public.

What exactly is being added in the expansion? 
The expansion is not only about adding retail area, of which we are adding about 6 000sqm, but also about rearranging the way the mall functions. We are moving the food court and all its tenants to the new wing, where we’re creating a beautiful new food court linking with a large, covered veranda with views to the north of the island. Then we are also creating a beautiful piazza with new coffee shops and restaurants, providing a link between the first floor of the new structured parking areas and the mall. In total, we are adding buildings with a gross building area of 18 000sqm.

What are the challenges you face in keeping current tenants happy during the disruption of further construction, and how is disruption handled from your side? 
As mentioned before the main challenge relates to maintaining enough parking areas for customers as the rest of the construction is isolated from the interior of the mall. Careful planning and scheduling of works are required to minimise parking areas taken up by construction activities and to return the parking areas as soon as possible after completion of the works. This has been a difficult process, to say the least.

Aside from the confirmed new tenants, how many other new shops are you still searching tenants for? 
We are fortunate enough to be oversubscribed and the new tenants will be announced in the coming months.