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SMALL CONSTRUCTION SITE

However, according to Waldemar Weiss, the attractiveness of the region for developers and retailers does not always coincide with the "classic" rating of its investment attractiveness. "Often developers, entering new markets, evaluate the potential, focusing on the housing market," the expert reminds. – ​But often prices per square meter fall so much that construction becomes economically impractical. In Krasnodar, the stated sale price is 29,000 rubles per sq. m. with a construction cost of 34,000 rubles. The situation is different in Tyumen or Kazan, where construction is actively underway. Against this background, retail has also suspended development and is moving to small towns very selectively, in a square-nest way, fields in the regions are no longer sown by shops. In every sense, the market is being mastered carefully and selectively. But, I repeat, at the same time, there are still unsaturated markets with high purchasing power of the population that are interesting for the development of shopping facilities in the city. But regional markets with a high degree of saturation of shopping centers today do not require the construction of new areas; there is an urgent need to update existing ones. The construction and commissioning of a shopping center by the number of square meters in 2017 will be 35% 40% lower compared to 2016. As for the recently opened regional facilities, depending on the location, some will become a joy and a new milestone in the development of a modern comfortable urban environment, while others will be a real headache for citizens, worsening the transport situation at the location of the facility.

ESCAPE FROM THE STREET

CBRE notes that the role of shopping centers in the regions continues to grow, and street retail is losing ground. "Retailers have become aware of the positive side of synergy within the shopping center, when neighboring stores help generate traffic and increase sales," explains Magomed Akhkuev.

In addition, after the beginning of the crisis, "overreacted" retailers closed low-margin "street" stores. "The street retail market in the regions is undergoing significant changes, primarily related to the development of shopping centers," Mr. Weiss supports. "Trade corridors are experiencing difficulties, and if the mayor actively helps in this in Moscow, then in the regions the growth of vacancies and the fall in rental rates are caused by the appearance of objects where you can shop in more comfortable conditions. Extreme sports and shopping parkour are less and less attractive to Russian women, so they rush to the shopping center. Surgut is especially indicative in this sense: after the commissioning of the Surgut City Mall and the Aura, the street retail there simply emptied, causing legitimate irritation of the city authorities. At the same time, developers are actively trying to rent or sell all the first and sometimes even the second floors of residential new buildings in residential areas.

Experts still speak of St. Petersburg only as "he is the only one", referring to the "capitals", then to "just millionaires". "In 2016, two very revealing projects were opened in St. Petersburg," says Patrick Sjoberg. – ​The New Holland project is undoubtedly important for the city, today this location is one of the best examples of rethinking open space and transforming the territory into the concept of a city for people. In the segment of retail real estate, a landmark event was the opening of the Okhta Mall shopping center. "Okhta Mall" provides an opportunity for residents of the district and the city within the walls of the shopping center to get a qualitatively new shopping experience –traditional shopping and entertainment, as well as cultural and educational leisure ».

Anna Lapchenko, head of retail real estate projects at Knight Frank St Petersburg, recalls that in August 2016 another location in the city center received the status of a pedestrian street. Subsequently, a competition was held for the benefit of the device, in which the project of Bolshaya Morskaya Street as an open-air entrance hall of the Hermitage won. "On the eve of 2016, the Vyborgskaya metro station was opened, and in May 2016, Vasileostrovskaya, at the end of the year, the Elizarovskaya metro station was opened," Ms. Lapchenko shares. For a significant part of the trade operators, the closure of the metro station, which forms pedestrian flows, becomes a factor that puts the functioning of the business at risk. The rotation of tenants near the metro station during such periods is at least 30%. For operators, such an event is stimulating due to the significantly increased traffic in this location. In particular, an increase in the intensity of pedestrian flows along Konnogvardeysky Boulevard will ensure higher performance indicators of public catering enterprises. The increase in rates in the near future will, according to our estimates, be at least 10%-15%.

Another key event of St. Petersburg's street retail was the organization of public space on Sennaya Square, where in mid-October retail pavilions were dismantled on an area of more than 15,000 sq. m. "Visual expansion of space created a noticeable potential for the development of operators occupying premises in buildings framing the square," believes Anna Lapchenko. And, of course, it is impossible not to note the appearance of a new luxury location in the city center on Staro-Nevsky Prospekt.

In turn, regional networks have started the "battle for Moscow". For example, the Ural network "Golden Apple" came to the capital. Fashion brand 12Storeez stores (also from Yekaterinburg) have opened in three shopping malls in Moscow.

To be continued.

Author: Ekaterina Reutskaya

Photo: shutterstock.com