Olips, a developer from Yekaterinburg responsible for the Dirigible Mall project, is about to start making the design and concept of the mall (developed by Cushman&Wakefield Stiles&Riabokobylko) a reality.


Firstly, the company needs to put up an extension to the existing mall: a three-storey building with the total area of 48,740 square meters with a gallery that will connect it to the older building. The ground floor will be given to a hypermarket, the other two floors are meant for shops and entertainment. There are going to be 32,000 square meters to rent altogether. In addition, the new building will be provided with a parking lot fit for 256 cars and an underground parking area fit for 850 cars. The construction will probably have been completed by the middle of 2011.


Next, Olips is planning on renovating the older building of the mall in 2011. This will mean new moving staircases, new flooring, and new interior. The builder is positive it will be able to do all these jobs within the course of eighteen months without having to close the mall down for the period. The opening of the upgraded Dirigible Mall is expected to coincide with the introduction of a new underground station in Yekaterinburg.


'The mall started operating in 2001 and has been rather successful since, yet we need to keep up with the times; this is why we are investing in re-designing now before it’s too late; we want Dirigible to stay one of Yekaterinburg’s most popular shopping centers within the next decade,’ Olips’s Commercial Director Evgeniy Melnikov says.