CURRENT PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES OF DEVELOPERS

Development

“A Stand-Alone Product”

Nikolas Löhr and Bernd Hofer of the FREO Group explain the Mall of Switzerland’s unique selling propositions. It is scheduled to open in autumn 2017.

Largest commercial and residential facility in Montenegro opened

The Capital Plaza in Podgorica boasts around 93,000 sq m of space. Two firms from the United Arab Emirates provided the investment, the size of which remains undisclosed.

Ukraine’s Retail Real Estate – Survival Strategy

Unsurprisingly, project development in the country has been interrupted. But in Kiev alone, about 20 malls with around 1 million sq m of GLA are currently at various stages of completion, possibly opening in 2017-2018, according to UTG.

81,000 sq m of New Retail Space for the Belgian Capital

In Machelen, north of Brussels, Uplace, an independent real estate group in the lifestyle business, is building Uplace Brussels. The concept intends to be beyond what is available in shopping centers in Belgium.

The Shopping Center on Seoul’s “Wall Street”

Yeouido, an island in the Han River, is home to the South Korean capital’s main business and investment district – including the IFC Mall, which opened three years ago.

Downtown Mall Opens in Upper Austria

By opening architecturally outward, the Weberzeile fuses with downtown Ried. Total integration is the new shopping center’s motto. Patios, windows, and balconies provide communication between the users and the environment.

Another Riviera

There are many shopping centers named Riviera. Another not-too-small one – with approximately 100,000 sq m of GLA – will open next spring in Moscow.

Movement on Mölndal Galleria in Sweden

The groundbreaking for the new Mölndal Galleria and the transformation of Mölndal’s city center took place on 27 August in a ceremony held on the construction site. The event was jointly organized by Citycon, NCC, Riksbyggen, and MölndalsBostäder, the four companies investing in the scheme.

Zurich Airport is the largest mall in Switzerland

The transport hub is getting even more sales space. The reason is that the operator primarily sees growth in the profitable non-aviation portion of the business.

Transport hub with a new shopping dimension

The Istanbul New Airport is set to become the largest of its kind worldwide. Its opening is planned for the end of 2018. Around 53,000 sq m of retail space will sweeten passengers’ stays there.

Small and mid-sized projects continue

A look at Lithuania: According to the “Real Estate Market Report 2015 – Baltic States” by Ober-Haus, not a single large shopping center has opened its doors in Vilnius in the last five years. Developers are trying to exploit attractive locations by offering small and medium-size malls, however.

“We plan to dispose of our logistics properties”

Henrik Stadigh, Director Shopping Centers, and Pia Arrhenius, Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning and IR, tell ACROSS that the Finnish real estate investment company Sponda will concentrate in the future on office space and shopping centers.

First outlet center for France’s Grand-Ouest

Honfleur Outlet is the new shopping destination for Normandy. Phase 1 of the 18,000-sq-m project is to open its doors in spring 2017.

Russia: In love with outlet centers

Strong interest from retailers and customers’ positive views of outlets mean a bright future for Russia’s outlet centers. There is potential to launch 25 to 30 new projects in the next 10 to 15 years.

Reaching for the stars

Austria’s SCS was recently declared a 4-star shopping center. 20 of Unibail-Rodamco’s 73 malls now boast this certification related to quality of stay and service.

On course for growth

The economic recovery in Europe and the consistent expansion of its services business provides the Portuguese shopping center specialist Sonae Sierra with good figures.

A trip through time. A pioneer recalls the early years.

Today’s level of professionalism in the shopping center industry is impressive. It wasn’t always that way. From 1974 to 2000, Heinrich Kraft was CEO of ECE. In an interview with ACROSS, the center professional recalls his beginnings and what problems pioneers had to battle with.

A Pleasing Increase

According to CBRE, global shopping center development continues to accelerate, with a total of 11.4 million sq m of space opening in 2014 compared with 10.6 million sq m in 2013.

”A very exciting experiment”

SES Spar European Shopping Centers will operate Austria’s first managed shopping street in Seestadt Aspern in a joint venture with the City of Vienna, CEO Marcus Wild explains in an interview with ACROSS.

In the Park

Why more and more investors want retail parks in their portfolios and why this special property type is so alluring.