Work has begun on a major retailed scheme on the outskirts of Milan as part of an urban regeneration plan. Developer Falcon Malls is on site in the Cascina Merlata area of the city, where the project will bring 65,000 sqm of new mixed-use space across 192 units. When the work is completed, the Cascina Merlata center will be the most significant retail space in Milan and sit into a broader redevelopment project to transform some 900,000 sqm of land to the north-west of the city.
The project is close to the site of Expo Milan 2015, and up to 10 million visitors each year are expected. Set within the context of one of Europe’s wealthiest Global Retail Cities, the 65.000 GLA sqm mall will be a crucial element of the Cascina Merlata mixed-use master plan development. The overall site is located south of Milan’s Expo area which will soon house among other points of interest, a new Science and Technology Park.
Falcon Malls is also playing an active role in the MilanoSesto post-industrial regeneration project by building a shopping center in the Concordia area, together with a leisure & entertainment area and a mixed, residential and office building area with a Retail Boulevard. The retail space will include a shopping center and Piazza Pompei, a spectacular leisure complex and food court.
Another object, Palazzo del Lavoro near Turin, is a medium-sized retail project in a very prestigious architectural setting. The initiative includes refurbishing the complex designed by Pier Luigi Nervi for the 1961 Universal Exposition and creating an entirely new look for this area of Turin.
Falcon Malls is a subsidiary of the Fawaz Alhokair Group, which owns and operates retail centers throughout Saudi Arabia. Established in 1990, Fawaz Alhokair is one of the leading international groups in the fashion retail, food, entertainment, and shopping mall markets. It manages 20 shopping centers and stars new developments in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Fashion retail presented by over 2,500 sales points in 17 countries with a portfolio of over 100 brands distributed.
