IN Brief:
- SPEC BAU Polska has been appointed general contractor for Redkom Development’s Tarnów retail park.
- The project will deliver around 35,000 sq m across almost 30 retail, service, fitness, and leisure units.
- Approximately 90% of the space is signed or in final lease negotiations before completion.
Redkom Development has appointed SPEC BAU Polska as general contractor for a new retail park in Tarnów, southern Poland, where construction is now under way.
The development will provide approximately 35,000 sq m of lettable space across almost 30 units. One of the largest retail park projects under construction in southern Poland, it will combine convenience retail, fashion, homewares, electronics, fitness, food, and leisure uses.
Located on one of Tarnów’s principal transport routes, the scheme will draw customers from the city and surrounding region. Its occupier mix is intended to support both regular local shopping and longer visits associated with larger format stores and leisure facilities.
Agata will operate a furniture store within the development, while Cinema City will open a multiplex cinema. Other occupiers include Lidl Polska, JULA, CCC, Worldbox, Shock Price, Rossmann, Martes Sport, Pepco, TEDi, Ochnik, Sinsay, Media Expert, RTV Euro AGD, Dr Materac, and Xtreme Fitness Gyms.
Approximately 90% of the retail space has already been secured, according to Redkom. Most of the accommodation is covered by signed leases, with the remaining committed area at the final stage of commercial negotiations.
Michał Szwedzicki, project director at Redkom Development, said: “SPEC BAU Polska has extensive experience in commercial construction and a proven track record of delivering projects of this scale.”
He added that the contractor had been selected to deliver the required quality and programme for the development.
Elżbieta Kutrasińska, head of leasing at Redkom Development, said the project had attracted an established mix of brands and that its leasing position would create a balanced offer for Tarnów and the wider region.
Redkom has delivered approximately 100,000 sq m of retail park space and is expanding its active development pipeline. Separate projects are under construction at Otwock, Lublin, and Białystok, providing more than 50,000 sq m in total and scheduled for completion before the end of 2026.
SPEC BAU will coordinate the building structures, envelopes, external works, services, tenant interfaces, and programme required to bring the Tarnów development into operation.
Strong preletting reduces development exposure
Retail construction has shifted away from speculative enclosed shopping centres towards open format parks offering simpler access, lower common costs, and units suited to established national and international operators.
A 90% leasing position before completion reduces uncertainty over income, tenant requirements, and the specification needed for individual units. It also gives the contractor a more developed picture of the services and interfaces required across the scheme.
Early leasing brings its own delivery pressure because each occupier may have individual façade, signage, floor loading, mechanical and electrical, security, data, refrigeration, fire, and fit out requirements.
The general contractor must maintain a coherent base build programme while releasing units in the sequence needed for tenant works. Late changes can affect adjoining spaces, shared services, external areas, inspections, and the planned opening date.
A cinema and fitness operator introduce technical requirements beyond standard retail shells. Acoustic treatment, ventilation, structural loading, vertical circulation, life safety systems, and extended operating hours must be coordinated with the wider development.
Food retail and catering units can require additional power, drainage, refrigeration, grease management, ventilation, and delivery arrangements, while furniture and homeware stores bring larger format loading requirements and different customer collection patterns.
External infrastructure will have a substantial influence on operational performance. Vehicle access, parking circulation, pedestrian routes, servicing, drainage, lighting, landscaping, signage, and connections to the surrounding road network must be complete and safe before opening.
Retail parks are frequently delivered against fixed commercial launch dates. Tenants coordinate stock deliveries, recruitment, marketing, systems testing, and store preparation around those dates, so delay carries costs beyond the construction contract.
Redkom’s leasing position provides a firmer basis for coordinating tenant interfaces early and allows utility demand to be assessed against known uses rather than broad speculative allowances.
Energy performance is becoming more prominent for owners and occupiers. Large roof areas can support solar generation, while lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and vehicle charging determine the development’s actual electrical demand.
Poland’s retail park pipeline has remained active partly because schemes can serve regional cities and catchments that may not support another large enclosed centre. Construction is generally more standardised, although the apparent simplicity can conceal a high number of tenant, utility, and programme interfaces.
Redkom’s simultaneous projects at Otwock, Lublin, Białystok, and Tarnów create opportunities to repeat design, procurement, and leasing processes. Repetition can improve cost and programme control, provided regional ground conditions, utilities, planning requirements, and contractor capacity are assessed individually.
SPEC BAU enters delivery with most of the commercial space allocated and a defined tenant mix. That reduces uncertainty over the finished use while increasing the importance of accurate information exchange between developer, contractor, designers, and occupiers from the beginning of construction.
The programme will be judged not only by completion of the base buildings, but by whether almost 30 separate operational requirements can be coordinated into a single opening sequence without compromising quality, safety, or the infrastructure serving the park.
