Business Development Director of RD Management Alexander Ustinov spoke at the latest CRE First roundtable, organized by the publishing house Impress Media.
The CRE First roundtable was held on February 17, bringing together the leading players of the commercial real estate market to discuss development concepts for mixed-use commercial properties in the center of Moscow.
The discussion among the market experts focused on the mixed-used Class A center Arcadia, located in the historic center of the Russian capital. The complex includes a Class A business center, retail gallery and entertainment zone. Despite its central location, the retail portion of the complex has not proved to be very popular among shoppers. The experts tried to explain which factors have prevented this complex from becoming a prime retail location.
EXPERT ASSESSMENT
“Location is a defining feature of any property, but one’s position on the map is not everything. A key factor impacting the success of this mixed-use complex is the lack of a systemic approach to the selection of tenants. At present there is no overriding concept, and the target audiences of the tenants are not complementary but often even contradictory,” says Alexander Ustinov.
“A proper re-conception with a focus on creating synergies for tenants would be a good first step for the development of this project. It would be prudent to replace the supermarket with a concept oriented toward a more affluent target audience, as the Zamoskvorechye has an elite residential community which is well developed and continues to develop,” the expert says. He suggests that additional foot traffic could be generated by creating entertainment infrastructure for children and a fitness center.