The opening of the family shopping center "Mega" in Novosibirsk is planned for November 2007. Its total area is 130,000 sq. m (including the IKEA hypermarket with an area of 27,500 sq. m). The volume of IKEA investments in the project was $150 million. The manager of the shopping centers "Mega" in Russia Herman Gevert says that already now all 100% of the shopping center's area is leased. Among the tenants are more than 150 companies. The majority are Novosibirsk companies working on a franchise basis under international brands. The anchor tenants will be "Auchan", Leroy Merlin, " M.Video ".

More and more shopping centers

According to DSO Consulting, more than 1.5 million square meters of retail real estate is being built or planned for construction in Novosibirsk this year, including about 10 shopping centers, each with an area of 20,000 square meters.

Next to the Sibir Hotel, the Trud development company is completing construction of the Manhattan shopping center. Its total area will be 85,000 square meters, of which about 15,000 square meters will be used for retail, says the company's commercial director, Anatoly Pastushenko. He reported that the approximate rental rates will be from 1,000 to 3,000 rubles per 1 square meter, depending on the size of the rented premises and what floor it is located on.

In August 2007, the third store of the Lenta chain is to open in Novosibirsk. Its area is 12,000 square meters, it is located on Bolshevistskaya Street, said the director of the shopping complex, Sergei Mitrofanov. Investments in construction are approximately $20 million.

According to him, Lenta planned to build another store on Kamenskaya Magistral, but the company's standard project, in the opinion of the mayor's office, did not fit into the infrastructural development of this area. Mitrofanov reported that the company found a new site on Kirozavodskaya Street.

By October, Avtoyarus will open the Royal Park shopping mall with a total area of 70,000 sq. m. The company’s development director, Valery Semibratov, said that it is being built on Krasny Prospekt.

The Siberian Giant holding company continues construction of a shopping center with an area of about 28,000 square meters on Mostovaya Street, near the bus station. This was previously reported to Vedomosti by Evgeny Sirenko, the company's development director.

Initially, IKEA representatives said that the lower limit of the rental cost per square meter would be $500–600 per year; currently, the rates are not being disclosed.

“For Novosibirsk residents, the appearance of Mega will be a turning point,” notes Oleg Lugovoy, president of the Siberian Guild of Commercial Real Estate Managers and Developers. “City residents will come there to spend the whole day, not only for shopping, but also for entertainment.”

After the opening of such shopping centers in Novosibirsk, the first signs of saturation with retail space will appear, says Sergey Dyachkov, managing partner of DSO Consulting.

Nevertheless, the opening of the shopping and entertainment center "Zauralye" on Frunze Street is planned for February 2008. This was reported by the managing partner of Ross Group Mark Afraimovich. According to him, Globexbank acted as the investor in the project, the volume of investments is not disclosed. The total area of the shopping and entertainment center will be 67,000 sq. m.

In 2008–2009, Rosevrodevelopment will begin construction of two shopping centers – at the intersection of Gogolya and Michurin streets and near Dimitrovsky Market. Their combined area will exceed 100,000 sq. m, reported Rosevrodevelopment PR manager Olga Mednikova.

Shops are getting more expensive

In 2007, there will be a significant influx of high-quality retail space, notes leading analyst of Sibakademstroy-Real Estate Tatyana Vysotskaya. In her opinion, this will lead to even greater differentiation in rental rates and space costs in modern and outdated stores.

"In 2006, the range of rental rates and prices for retail real estate was from 20% to 140%. This year, we are seeing something similar," Lugovoy assesses the situation on the market. In his opinion, the cost of quality retail premises will grow at a comparable rate in 2007.

The fight for quality

“Novosibirsk lacks quality space,” says Zafar Umarov, director of the Akropol real estate agency. He notes that even large shopping centers may not have a well-thought-out concept. “For example, the recently opened Bolshaya Medveditsa trade and exhibition complex attracted little-known tenants, which, coupled with poor transport accessibility, makes the project unsuccessful,” Umarov is categorical. Ekaterina Tsukanova, advertising manager for the Bolshaya Medveditsa trade and exhibition complex, on the contrary, believes that their concept is correct. “Our hypermarket with a total area of 92,000 sq. m has a strict specialization; the buyer can choose goods from economy to premium class from neighboring regions. Getting there is not that difficult: the roads are being repaired, and an additional interchange will soon appear. In addition, free buses run from Kalinina Square to the complex every 15 minutes,” Tsukanova describes the advantages of the facility.

According to Tatyana Vysotskaya, there is currently a shortage of retail space in quality shopping centers and premises on busy city highways. Nikolay Pavlishchev, head of the commercial real estate department at the Zhilfond real estate agency, agrees with Vysotskaya. He says that there is a lot of space for stores on the market, but the prices are too high and they themselves are not quite suitable for retail purposes. For example, sellers offer premises in industrial zones or former warehouses. “If we discard such offers, it turns out that the city does not have enough retail space,” the expert summarizes.

Director of the Hermitage Real Estate Agency Timur Tagirov says that the death of old formats is not far off. He believes that with the increase in the volume of high-quality retail space, buyers and tenants of commercial real estate will dictate their terms to developers.

No one will leave without buying anything.