Swire to lease more Zhangyuan retail space after record 18-building move with robots
Zhangyuan, a 140-year-old compound in Shanghai, is an urban regeneration project offering 140,000 square metres of gross floor area
Swire Properties and its partner in mainland China are preparing to lease the second phase of their retail venture in Shanghai, after shifting 18 buildings on the Zhangyuan site sideways with robots to make way for the construction of a multi-level underground mall.
The joint venture aimed to release the space in stages from next year, according to Holly Zhang Yuanfu, deputy general manager of Shanghai Jing’an Urban Regeneration Construction Development, the owner of the site. The first phase of the project was completed in late 2022.
“The underground work began after the little robots completed their relocation tasks,” Zhang said. “Combining the progress of underground construction, the robots will then protectively relocate the buildings back to their original positions.”