By Andrea Hargraves 
City Center Covilhã should open its doors in the second quarter of 2023, notes CBRE, the consultancy responsible for marketing this commercial venture. In a statement, the consultancy for providing services in the real estate sector notes that this space aims to “contribute to increasing investment in the gateway to the city of Serra da Estrela.”
This shopping center, located on the axis of the main road in Covilha, will have a total area of about 18 thousand square meters and 14 stores, as determined by CBRE. Altogether, it will consist of two floors, “two of them with direct access from the arteries surrounding the project, and a parking area for approximately 740 places, of which 242 are on the roof.”
According to O Interior newspaper, this project will create 600 jobs in the region. The project is promoted by Forumlar, with Frontcity being the entity responsible for the architecture. Forumlar directors, Artur Costa Pais and Paulo Ramos, have an investment portfolio of tens of millions of euros, in consortium with other partners in the fields of tourism, distribution and health in the Serra da Estrela region.
“This type of project, which in some cases can be seen as an extension of general trade, with additional parking parity for customer convenience, has proven to be a resilient asset model for the negative effects of the pandemic,” explains Carlos Recio, Director of Retail Advisory and Transaction Services at CBRE, quoted in a statement. .
“This specificity is due, on the one hand, to the physical characteristics, as they are open spaces, with large dimensions and direct access to stores from the outside, which conveys a sense of security to consumers, and on the other hand in terms of the offer that they traditionally have, including some sectors of activity that They were less affected by the decline in consumption.”