Tallinn's iconic department store planning mass expansion
Tallinna Kaubamaja, one of the few places to shop during the Soviet era, and still standing today, is planning to increase floor space by 2.5 times in the next few years.
"The entire development project is around 5-7 years and the end result should be a completely new prominent department store in Tallinn, which encompasses the entire Kaubamaja quarter," Tallinna Kaubamaja chief Erkki Laugus said.
The company behind it, Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp, will launch an architecture competition to redraw a large part of the capital's city center in a bid to expand into a department store similar to Harrods in London, Postimees reported.
The project is very ambitions and includes a three-floor underground parking lot, as well as moving traffic between the current location and Viru Center underground. The current main building, as well a few other Soviet-era constructions close by, will be torn down.
Estonia's retail market has grown significantly in recent years, 8 percent last year. Shopping floor space has also increased, but the majority of new shops, malls and mall expansions have taken place outside the city center.
Editor: J.M. Laats