Open do not run – where the developer should put a comma?

In the period of instability and uncertainty, all operators in the Ukrainian commercial real estate market have a lot of problems and issues related to the opportunities for survival in business in the current conditions. This applies to both open shopping center and those under construction. Thus, at the beginning of 2022, about 20 shopping centers announced their forthcoming opening. For example, in Kiev, three shopping malls were prepared to open their doors, three more in Odesa and the region and in Khmelnitsky and the region, as well as one in Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, Uzhgorod and Zhytomyr. Perhaps it would have been so if it were not for the war. In fact, only nine Pannonia shopping centers in Uzhgorod, the Maidan in Chervonograd of Lviv region and Fabrik in Lviv, Lake Plaza Kiev, Happy Mall-Rivne, Epicenter-Lviv region were opened last year.

The rest, which were even ready to launch, postponed the opening date. Such delay has a logical explanation. “Among the risks of launching the mall in today’s environment, there is first and foremost the opportunity of rocket strikes and destruction through hostilities. Then it is necessary to take into account the work with almost minimal lease income, since virtually all of the shopping center, except for those located in the western part of the country, because of migration of the population, most of their visitors were missing,” – said UTG Director Evgenia Loktionova.

But at the same time, according to the UTG leader, even in the conditions of hostilities in areas where there is no hot phase and risk to the life of visitors and employees, it is necessary to open the shopping mall – especially in the western regions of our country. “Therefore, there are many reasons for both purely economic and social nature. In the case of a simple developer in one way or another, the cost of maintaining the object, not to mention the need to repay interest on loans, if borrowed funds have been used,” – emphasizes Evgenia Loktionova.

Therefore, despite the difficult condition, new shopping malls will open in Ukraine. So, in April this year it is planned for the launch of “Odis” Shopping Center in Izmail. The rent area of the new shopping center is 2 000 square meters, the total is 2 500 square meters. But at the end of 2023, they intend to launch Pokrovsky shopping mall in Izmail (GLA 4500 square meters, GBA 5300 square meters), and a large-scale Planeta Mall project in Kharkiv (GLA 70 000 square meters, GBA 110 000 square meters). At the same time, the opening of the White Lines in Kiev (GLA 27 000 square meters, GBA 40,000 square meters) was moved to the next 2024. A more detailed list of open and planned shopping malls is in the table.

Unfortunately, as the current situation shows, in the near future, due to the activity of hostilities, it is not worth to expect the launch of new shopping malls in the eastern and north-eastern regions of the country. It is clear that developers are not able to plan something if every day the cities can be under fire and the threat of rocket attacks. Therefore, the development in the trade real estate sector correlates with the warfare. But after hostilities, our country should be revived quickly and become even better. “To do this, it is necessary to solve many issues related to infrastructure, and one of the important among them will be the restoration and further development of commercial real estate in Ukraine,” – Evgenia Loktionova emphasizes.

 

Shopping Center opened and scheduled for opening in 2022-2024

 

Name Location Opening date
Відкритті 2022
SEC Pannonia Uzhgorod April 2022
SOC Fabrik Lviv April 2022
SEC Laz-695 Lviv May 2022
SEC Maidan Chervonograd, Lviv region June 2022
SC Epicentr Sokilnyk village, Lviv region September 2022
SC Interior House Sokilnyk village, Lviv region July 2022
SEC Prut Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region July 2022
SOC Lake Plaza Kyiv November 2022
SEC Happy Mall Rivne October 2022
Planned for 2023-2024
SC «Odis» Izmail April 2023
SEC Brigantina Vinnitsa 4 quarter 2024
SEC Pokrovsky Izmail 4 quarter 2023
SEC Planeta Mall Kharkiv 4 quarter 2023
SEC White Lines Kyiv 1 quarter 2024
SEC Proskyrov Plaza Khmelnytskyi 4 quarter 2024
SC Aquarelle Odesa 4 quarter 2023
SC Mercury Odesa Not specified
SEC Veles (2nd turn) Ivano-Frankivsk 3 quarter 2023
SOC Temp Khmelnytskyi 4 quarter 2023
SC Vector Truskavets, Lviv region 4 quarter 2023
SC Park Drohobych, Lviv region 4 quarter 2023
SEC Ocean Mall Kyiv Not known
SEC April (2nd line) Kyiv Not known