Babilonas (shopping mall)

Babilonas
Location Panevėžys, Lithuania
Opening date 28 August 2007
Developer Ogmios group
Management Audrius Žukas,[1] Managing Director
Owner Ogmios group
Architect Gintautas Navickas
No. of stores and services 78
No. of anchor tenants
Total retail floor area 17,981,61 m2 (21,813,16 m2 overall)
Parking 900
No. of floors 3
Website http://www.babilonas.net

Babilonas is a shopping and entertainment mall in Panevėžys, Lithuania (Klaipėdos street 143a).[2] It is a part of a wider Babilonas real estate development.

Contents

Shops and entertainment businesses

In the shopping mall there are:[3]

Furniture retail hall, cinema and the electronics store are the largest in northeastern Lithuania (Aukštaitija).

History

The construction of the shopping mall started in 2006 and ended in 2007.

In the August 2008 the mall was expanded: the cinema and several additional shops were opened.

In 2007-2008 the primary market catered by the mall was that of household goods: furniture, construction, interior décor. Other primary target market was that for entertainment (cinema, ice rink).

Since year 2009 the market orientation changed: the number of interior goods stores lowered somewhat and at the same time number of stores selling soft goods such as clothing and shoes. In 2010 a supermarket (food store) opened for the first time in Babilonas.

Image and architecture

As the name “Babilonas” means Babylon, the interior of Babilonas is modeled after the ancient Middle East. On the walls over the shop entances there are frescoes with bulls and ancient people. In front of main entrance there are improvised columns. Inside a shopping center in a special terrarium a crocodile, named by children Babilonijus, lived for several years.

Events

The shopping center has a central area (former ice rink). Here various events take place, such as regular boxing, chess, weightlifting competitions as well as gigs.

References