City Galerie

City Galerie (also written City-Galerie) is a shopping centre in Aschaffenburg, Lower Franconia, Germany. It opened on 7 March 1974 on the site of a former coloured-paper factory, after a construction period of 16 months, and has been a fixture of the city's retail landscape ever since. The centre sits directly next to the Schöntal park and the inner-city pedestrian zone, about 600 metres from Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof. The centre was originally developed by a Hamburg-based property and administration company and opened with 40 shops on a usable area of 44,000 sq m across two shopping levels, with an attached multi-storey car park. Over the following decades it was repeatedly rebuilt, modernised and expanded: in 1984/85 it gained clear-glass dome structures that form today's light wells; in 1998/99 the old car park was demolished, 28 shops moved into newly created retail space and a new 11-level car park was built; and in 2008/09 further works added a gastronomy area at the entrances, bringing the commercial usable area to 57,000 sq m, of which 46,600 sq m is retail space on two levels. Ownership has changed several times. On 1 January 2006 the Rheinisch-Westfälische Immobilien-Anlagegesellschaft (RWI) sold the City-Galerie for EUR 140 million to Commerzbank's Grundbesitz special fund company (CGS) in Wiesbaden. In 2013 Commerz Real sold its special fund company to Internos Global Investors Ltd.; after Internos was taken over by Principal Global Investors (PGI) in 2018, the business was renamed Principal Real Estate Europe and now belongs to Principal Real Estate Investors, a PGI company. Since January 2018, DI Management GmbH has been responsible for managing the centre. Today the centre presents itself under the claim "Genussvoll shoppen" (roughly, "shopping with pleasure"), introduced with a brand relaunch in 2018. According to its own figures it has around 55,000 sq m of total sales area, 72 rental units and about 1,700 parking spaces, and welcomes roughly 26,000 visitors per day. Its website promotes services such as Click & Collect (order online, collect in the centre), gift vouchers sold at the customer information desk on level 1, a WhatsApp news channel, and a long list of amenities including a pharmacy, free WLAN, lockers, a defibrillator, e-bike charging, a children's play area, barrier-free access and toilets, a lost-property office and a taxi rank. The centre is managed by Centermanager Ragnar Cornelius, with Heldi Wolf as assistant in centre management and advertising association administration.

The site of the City-Galerie in Aschaffenburg has an industrial past: the coloured-paper factory founded in 1850 by Franz Johann Dessauer on Goldbacher Strasse was closed on 10 August 1967. From 1972, the shopping centre City-Galerie was built on this land. The centre was opened on 7 March 1974 by a Grundvermögens- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH from Hamburg, after a construction period of 16 months. At opening it housed 40 shops on a usable area of 44,000 sq m, arranged over two shopping levels, with an attached multi-storey car park. It sits directly next to the Schöntal park and the inner-city pedestrian zone, about 600 metres from Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof. In the following years the City-Galerie was repeatedly rebuilt, modernised and expanded. In 1984/85, among other modernisation measures, it received clear-glass dome structures that form today's light wells. In 1998/99 further extensive expansion and modernisation works followed: after the old car park was demolished, 28 shops moved into newly created retail space, and a new car park with 11 levels was built. In 2008/09 more conversions took place, creating a gastronomy area in the entrance zones; since this conversion the commercial usable area has been 57,000 sq m, of which 46,600 sq m is retail space on two levels. Ownership changed hands several times. On 1 January 2006 the Rheinisch-Westfälische Immobilien-Anlagegesellschaft (RWI) sold the City-Galerie for EUR 140 million to the Commerzbank Grundbesitz-Spezialfondsgesellschaft (CGS) based in Wiesbaden. In 2013 the property subsidiary of Commerzbank, Commerz Real, sold its special fund company mbH to Internos Global Investors Ltd. After Internos was taken over by Principal Global Investors (PGI) in 2018, the company was renamed Principal Real Estate Europe and has since belonged to Principal Real Estate Investors, a PGI company. Since January 2018, DI Management GmbH has been responsible for managing the City-Galerie. According to the centre's own "About us" page, it has been a customer magnet since its opening in 1974 and from the beginning a popular venue for promotional events with big stars and events. Over the years it was repeatedly converted and expanded, but its mission has remained: to make people happy. Since the relaunch of the brand presence in 2018, everything in the City revolves around the new claim "Genussvoll shoppen". The page lists the opening year 1974, a total sales area of around 55,000 sq m, 72 rental units, around 1,700 parking spaces and around 26,000 visitors per day. The centre management team is led by Centermanager Ragnar Cornelius, with Heldi Wolf as assistant centre management / advertising association administration; the contact centre is reachable on weekdays from 08:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 19:00. The centre's website presents a range of services for a relaxed shopping experience, including Click & Collect (order online and collect in the City), gift vouchers available in amounts from EUR 10 to 50 at the customer information desk on level 1 from Monday to Saturday between 10:00 and 19:00, a WhatsApp channel for news, and a long list of amenities such as a tailor's alteration service, pharmacy, lifts, baby changing room, barrier-free access and toilets, post box, bus stop, defibrillator, e-bike charging station, bicycle parking, lost-property office, cloakroom service, cash machine, dogs in the mall, children's play area, customer WC, customer information, car park, lockers, taxi and free WLAN.

• 2018

  After Internos is taken over by Principal Global Investors (PGI), the company is renamed Principal Real Estate Europe; since January 2018 DI Management GmbH manages the City-Galerie.

• 2018

  Relaunch of the brand presence with the new claim "Genussvoll shoppen".

• 2013

  Commerz Real sells its special fund company mbH to Internos Global Investors Ltd.

• 2009

  In 2008/09 further conversions create a gastronomy area at the entrances; commercial usable area reaches 57,000 sq m, of which 46,600 sq m is retail space on two levels.

• 2006

  RWI sells the City-Galerie for EUR 140 million to Commerzbank Grundbesitz-Spezialfondsgesellschaft (CGS) in Wiesbaden.

• 1999

  In 1998/99 extensive expansion and modernisation: the old car park is demolished, 28 shops move into new retail space, and a new 11-level car park is built.

• 1985

  In 1984/85 the centre receives clear-glass dome structures forming today's light wells, among other modernisation measures.

• 1974

  City-Galerie opens after a 16-month construction period with 40 shops on 44,000 sq m over two shopping levels, with an attached car park.

• 1972

  Construction of the City-Galerie shopping centre begins on the former factory site.

• 1967

  The coloured-paper factory founded in 1850 by Franz Johann Dessauer on Goldbacher Strasse closes.

A long-established inner-city shopping centre in Aschaffenburg positioning itself around the claim "Genussvoll shoppen" (pleasurable shopping), combining a broad mix of shops and restaurants with extensive services and parking in a central location.

• Shopping centre retail space (around 72 rental units)

• Click & Collect service

• Gift vouchers (EUR 10 to 50)

• Parking (around 1,700 spaces)

• Food and beverage outlets

• Customer services and amenities (pharmacy, WLAN, lockers, play area, etc.)

1. 1city-galerie.decity-galerie.de
2. 2Services – city-galerie.decity-galerie.de
3. 3Über Uns – city-galerie.decity-galerie.de
4. 4City Galerie – Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5City-Galerie Aschaffenburg – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org