In Teplice, another shopping center will open

Galerie Teplice, visualization

Teplice - In March, another large shopping center will open in the center of Teplice. There will be two facing each other in Freedom Square. Approximately 500 people will find work in shops and services. The construction cost around 1.2 billion CZK. This was reported to ČTK by Martin Jonáš, the media representative of Galerie Teplice. In Teplice, unemployment was 10.85 percent in January. Despite high unemployment, the share of square meters of retail space per capita continues to grow.
The three-story building with a hundred shops and restaurants replaced the Prior department store from 1981, which was demolished by socialist architects, clearing an entire block of old buildings, known as Teplice's Špalíček. For work on the new construction, the development company Dandreed recruited architects who were tasked with unifying the previously fragmented square while not disrupting the historical character.

Teplice, Prior before demolition

The gallery will open to the public on March 14. The manager of the shopping center, Jan Růžička, anticipates that the area will help revitalize the center of the spa town. There will be covered parking for 400 cars. Local civic associations criticized the influx of a large number of cars into the center. Another 300 parking spaces are available in the Fontana shopping center, which opened in Freedom Square before the end of the year. The development company JHT estimated construction costs at 820 million crowns.
In terms of square meters per capita, the Czech Republic has the most retail space among neighboring countries and in the entire region. Retail space will continue to increase. The largest share of retail spaces is being prepared in the Ústí region (32 percent of total retail construction in four projects).
Retail space, including small shops, currently totals over 3.7 million square meters in the Czech Republic. In Teplice, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office in 2012, there were 38 square meters of retail space per 1000 inhabitants.