Mitiska REIM invests €20 million to rebuild Portimão retail park

Belgian group Mitiska REIM will invest €20 million in the reconstruction of the Portimão retail park, which used to be the largest in the Algarve, but was destroyed by a fire in 2012. According to the project, which is currently in public consultation, Nova Vila Retail Park will have an area of around 21,000 square metres and will create over 200 jobs.

The plot with 78,927 square metres has been empty since 2012, the year a fire destroyed Portimão Retail Park, which had opened six years earlier. In 2016, this complex was sold by the British Land fund to Multi Corporation, owned by US giant Blackstone. At that time, along with the Portimão retail came four more retail parks, in an operation valued at €100 million.

Meanwhile, the asset (or what little was left of it) was sold to Mitiska REIM, European leader in retail parks, which arrived in Portugal in January 2018 when acquired Parque Mondego, in Coimbra, and Focus Park Canidelo, in Vila Nova de Gaia. Early on, the company communicated its desire to resurrect this retail park, which was once the largest in the Algarve, and it is now known that it foresees a €20 million investment for this project.

According to the company, the project will comprise a total construction area of 21,268 square metres, and the plot has a total area of 78,927 square metres. The retail park will have two floors, about two dozen shops and 839 parking spaces, some of which are for electric vehicles. “In this area of the car park a number of shops will be set up for restaurants,” it reads.

“The project will thus fill the current urban void, creating a new space, with new green areas, public areas and the opening of connection roads to the surrounding networks,” the owners say. A commercial space is also planned that “may operate as a Drive-In shop” or as a support for a possible future petrol station, which will be subject to autonomous licensing.

Mitiska REIM estimates to create 211 direct jobs, “mainly oriented to satisfy the needs of approximately 20 commercial establishments” and “at least 12 jobs associated with the maintenance and cleaning services”. It also adds indirect employment arising from the chain of suppliers and contracting external services.

The Belgian group arrived in Portugal in 2018 with the purchase of a retail park in Coimbra and another in Vila Nova de Gaia. Since then more investments have been added, such as Alverca Retail Park, Santarém Retail Park, Aveiro Retail Park and Lima Retail Park (Viana do Castelo), all four bought in 2020, for about €40 million, as reported by ECO at the time.