Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2014 | Page 47

THE ANGLE
By Markus Laine
The writer is Director, Real Estate Transactions and Investors of SRV Group Plc

Shopping Centres
keep evolving

Shopping centres have proven to be surprisingly resistant to
trying times. While the image of the shopping centre as “the
citizens’ living room” or “meeting place for all” sometimes
links with booming economy, that image doesn’t ring quite
true. Even when the economy is not doing so great, people
still want to go to shopping centres – and, in some cases, the
tougher the times get, the more people want to go there.

I

n many regards, the shopping centre is
simply the place to be: a natural setting
for spending some time and money. There
is also the historical continuation: in place
of market squares, where everybody would
go for purposes as much commercial as social, we have shopping centres – modern
market places – where even the rain can’t
spoil the day.
Finding the optimal slot in the urban
structure remains a high priority for players in the field. Helsinki and its surrounding municipalities earn special consideration in this regard, since 30 % of Finnish
shopping centres are located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area – with sales equalling
49 % of the whole shopping centre market
in Finland. The well-know challenge here
involves finding sufficient space to launch
new shopping centres, but it can be done, as
is the case with SRV’s REDI Shopping Centre in Kalasatama.
The curious thing about the shopping

centres located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is that they are more spread out,
removed from the core city structure, than
their counterparts elsewhere in Finland.
REDI, however, will definitely boost urban
cohesion, since it is directly integrated into the Helsinki core centre – there is even
a convenient metro connection inside the
shopping centre.
SRV has a lot of experience in creating urban logistical hubs, among them
the shopping centre Kamppi which has received international praise for its functionality. Kamppi is also a good example of a
shopping centre that is highly attractive to
the investors as well; in December 2013 it
was announced that Cornerstone Real Estate
Advisers’ Nordic Retail Fund has sold 50
% of Kamppi to Allianz Real Estate, making it the year’s single biggest real estate
deal in Finland. However, with accessibility from three vertical levels, REDI will be
even more functional.

SRV has also more recent references:
in the fall 2013, SRV opened 48,000 square
metre Pearl Plaza Shopping Centre in St.
Petersburg and started construction on the
Okhta Mall (75,000 sq m).
The demand for shopping centres in
Helsinki is great, as more and more people
flock to the metropolis. At the same time,
players of the sector have to think long and
hard about the demographics: who will
form the consumer base in the 2020s, for
example? The vision for REDI is to engage
the youthful minded city dwellers, and take
into consideration the various wishes of
many different age groups. One interesting
age group is formed by the senior citizens, as
the baby boomers are now retiring in record
numbers. In connection to REDI, there
will be convenient residential services
for all age groups as well as a social and
health centre among other services which
will make everyday life even more convenient.
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