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Kaiserslautern’s new downtown attraction, “K in Lautern,” opened its doors March 24 to shoppers ready to check out the highly anticipated mall’s shops, cafes and restaurants.
The mall, which took 21 months to complete, will be the most important element of the new city center, according to a “K in Lautern” press release. The mall will house more than 100 shops and service providers, as well as a food court that seats more than 400 people.
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and ECE partnered for this €160 million investment, which helped create more than 800 jobs. ECE will take over the long term management and leasing of the center. “K in Lautern” has already been awarded with the pre-certificate in silver by the German Sustainable Building Council for its sustainable planning and its integration into the urban environment.
“The shopping gallery ‘K in Lautern’ will be a great benefit to Kaiserslautern and will make shopping in our inner city more attractive,” said Mayor Klaus Weichel. “The shopping center has been successfully integrated into the existing urban structure, which will be (continuously be) improved and extended.”
Alexander Otto, CEO of ECE, said the entire region will benefit from “K in Lautern.”
“What makes this project so special is its location in the heart of the city and the sustainable planning,” he said.
All retail spaces in the new mall have been leased. Among the mall’s anchor tenants are fashion brands such as TK Maxx, Reserved, Primark and Mango, all of which will join other stores such as Calzedonia, Only, Camp David, Soccx Woman, SuperDry, Tom Tailor, JD Sports, C&A, Vero Moda, Runners Point, Engbers, Bonita and Orsay.
About 70 of the more than 100 retailers will be premiering stores in Kaiserslautern for the first time. These brands include Rituals, Yves Rocher and Kiko Milano, which sell cosmetics; shoe retailers My Shoes, Tamaris and Sidestep; Xenos, which sells home accessories and gifts; P. Cookery, which sells fashion jewelry; and optical retailer Krass Optik. Shoe retailers Dielmann Schuhe, drugstore DM and optical retailer Abele Optik will also open a shop in the mall. Among the mall’s service providers are Fotostudio Studioline and Volksbank Kaiserslautern.
Restaurants and cafes will also be an important focus at “K in Lautern.” The German grocery retail store Aldi will be one of the mall’s anchor tenants.
The food court, which features 10 different restaurants and cafes and a seating area with more than 400 seats, will be a special point of attraction. Restaurants include Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ciao Bella (pizza and pasta), El Chico (Mexican food), La Luna (ice cream) and Akido Sushi.“K in Lautern” is located directly in Kaiserslautern’s city center with access to the local road
network. “K in Lautern” is being called an important element in the project “Neue Stadtmitte Kaiserslauern,” or new city center Kaiserslautern, and will enhance the city center.
The building itself is being referred to as the “Stadtgelenk,” or city joint, because it physically connects the pedestrian zones of Fackelstrasse and Muehlstrasse.
The former Karstadt building on the premises was not demolished, but gutted and integrated into the new shopping center complex.
The architectural design of the building meets the highest standards. Light-flooded walls and rotundas connect the four levels of the shopping gallery, and every level can be reached by escalators and elevators.
