LONDON-Shopping center completion in Europe dropped by 30%, the worst fall in almost 30 years, to only about 56 million square feet in 2010, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. Non-traditional areas such as Russia, Turkey and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe are dominating the new development pipeline.
Development is expected to pick up this year, with Russia and Turkey are on track to provide almost 50% of all new shopping center development in Europe this year, according to the company. In Russia, more than 32 million square feet is due to open by the end of 2012, and almost 20 million square feet is scheduled for completion in the next year and a half in Turkey.
The largest projects launched last year in Russia were Vegas in Moscow, with about 1.5 million square feet, and Galeria in St. Petersburg, with more than one million square feet. The largest project completed was the 1.6-million-square-foot City-Park Grad shopping center in Voronezh, which is now the biggest shopping center in Russia outside of Moscow.
Mike Rodda, head of cross border retail investment for C&W, said the strength of these two markets have been predicted for some time. “The occupational markets are strong and finance is accessible, especially in Turkey, giving confidence to developers. On top of this, liquidity and investor appetite are increasing month to month,” Rodda said in a statement.
Italy and Spain led Western Europe in development in 2010, with 15 new centers in Italy opened and seven new centers in Spain. In London, Stratford City is the Europe’s largest center under construction, at 1.9 million square feet. Germany, Portugal and France all saw declines in retail development in 2010, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
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