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| Rendering of planned Hanam Union Square shopping center Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
HONG KONG, Oct. 28, 2013 – Taubman Asia, a subsidiary of
U.S. mall REIT, Taubman Centers, Inc., today officially announced the
groundbreaking of the Hanam Union Square shopping center, a 4.5 million
square feet (430,000 sqm) GFA mall in Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, South
Korea.
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| Rene Tremblay |
Taubman Asia and Shinsegae Group, Korea’s leading luxury
department store retailer, are the joint investors in the project and are
co-developing the site. Hanam Union Square is scheduled to open in the second
half of 2016.
Taubman will provide development, leasing, operations and
ongoing center management services. Taubman Asia will invest US$330 million in
Hanam Union Square for a 30 percent interest in the US$1.1 billion project,
demonstrating its commitment to the Korean retail industry and belief in its
growth potential.
A ceremony was held at the property today, signifying
construction getting underway. Guests of honor present included the Governor of
Gyeonggi Province, Mr. Moon-su Kim; the Mayor of Hanam City, Mr. Kyo-beom
Lee; National Assembly member, Mr. Hyunjae Le; the Vice Chairman of
Shinsegae Group, Mr. Yong-jin Chung, and Taubman Asia President,
Mr. René Tremblay.
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| Moon-su Kim |
“Taubman Asia is honored to have been chosen by Shinsegae
as its retail partner for the development of Hanam Union Square,” said Mr.
Tremblay. “We are proud to be part of the transformation of Hanam City into a
premier shopping and entertainment destination for Koreans.
“This project provides us with a great opportunity to
further leverage Taubman’s 60-plus year retail heritage, and bring a new level
of world-class retail environment to the sophisticated Korean market.”
With a gross leasable area of approximately 1,700,000
square feet (157,000 sqm), Hanam Union Square is designed to be a unique,
multi-level – three levels for retail, plus basement, deck and rooftop parking
– lifestyle shopping mall with Shinsegae Department Store as the anchor tenant.
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| Yong-jin Chung |
“We also anticipate there will be a significant number of
high-end flagship stores, and feature leisure and entertainment facilities such
as a hypermarket, cinema, spa, food and beverage and more,” Mr. Temblay said.
“When completed we expect the mall to contribute to the
local economy by creating over 7,000 jobs.”
This type of regional mall is new to the Korean market,
and will be among the largest in the country. With distinct areas being
developed for families, teenagers, and Korea’s most discerning shoppers, Hanam
Union Square will meet the wants and needs of a wide range of visitors.
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| IFC Seoul Mall |
Mr. Yong-jin Chung said, "Through the strategic
partnership with Taubman Asia, which has successful know-how in the development
and management of lifestyle shopping mall complexes, we will create a landmark
leading tourist business in the capital region."
Located in one of the most scenic areas of Greater Seoul,
with tourist attractions nearby, Hanam Union Square will be directly connected
to the seven-lane Misari Expressway, which is linked to the Greater Seoul
freeway network.
In addition to Hanam Union Square in Greater Seoul,
Taubman Asia’s portfolio also includes managing the operations of IFC Mall in
Seoul, which was opened fully leased in August 2012, and two recently announced
projects in Xi’an and Zhengzhou, China which are scheduled
to open in late 2015.
For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please
contact:
Pamela So
Weber
Shandwick,
Hong Kong
+852 2533 9916
