Transport and apartment hub – Newspaper Kommersant No. 188 (7389) dated 10/11/2022

The Pioneer Group of Leonid Maksimov, despite the crisis, managed to find a buyer for a large site with an estimated cost of 6 billion rubles. Now the construction of housing and a shopping center on the site of the transport interchange hub (TPU) “Open Highway” in the east of Moscow will be carried out by “Mangazeya” Sergei Yanchukov. Experts warn that due to the high competition in the area, at the first stage, apartments will have to be sold at below market prices.

The Mangazeya Group of Companies is buying out the Otkrytoye Shosse transport hub development project in the east of Moscow from the Pioneer group, three sources told Kommersant in the real estate market. On the site, you can build housing for 112 thousand square meters. m and a shopping center for 31 thousand square meters. m, clarifies the interlocutor close to Pioneer. The parties declined to comment. Meanwhile, the Federal Antimonopoly Service granted the petition of MD Sever II LLC, controlled by Mangazeya, to acquire SZ Life Bogorodskoye LLC, which, through Otkritie LLC, owns Concern Mosmebelprom JSC, the owner of the site under the TPU.

Pioneer Group bought the site under the transfer hub from the owner of Ecooffice Andrey Kovalev in 2021 for an estimated 1.2 billion rubles. But in July 2022, she decided that she wanted to focus on development in the premium segment, and began selling the asset. At that time, at least five developers claimed the asset, but Mangazeya’s interest in the project was not known.

Kommersant’s sources say that Pioneer wants to raise 6 billion rubles for this site. Nikoliers partner Vladimir Sergunin believes that this amount corresponds to the market value. However, a Kommersant source in the real estate market believes that, given the current turbulence in the market, the seller could give a discount. According to Mr. Sergunin, investments in the project will amount to 15-18 billion rubles, and revenue from the sale of apartments – 26-28 billion rubles.

Irina Dobrokhotova, chairman of the board of directors of Best Novostroy, warns that a large volume of supply is concentrated in the area, so at the first stage, apartment prices may be lower than market prices. The net rental income of the shopping center as part of the project can reach 300-400 million rubles. per year, calculated Olga Shlychkova, Senior Director of the Commonwealth Partnership’s Capital Markets Department.

The main risk that Mangazeya may face during the implementation of the project is a protracted crisis: in the current conditions, many developers have decided to pause the launch of new projects, warns Nadezhda Korkka, managing partner of Metrium. According to Dataflat.ru, in September demand for flats and apartments in new buildings in Moscow fell by 10% yoy to 280,000 sq. m. m.

This has led to the fact that in the built houses put into operation this year, the volume of unsold housing is 30-40%, Alexander Ruchyev, President of the Osnova group of companies, noted earlier. In addition, now not everyone is ready to take out a mortgage, and more than 70% of transactions on the market are carried out with its support, adds Irina Dobrokhotova. However, it will take at least six months to get all the necessary documents for the Otkrytoe Shosse transport hub to start construction, and by that time the situation may change, Nikolai Goryunov, director of the Capital Markets and Investments Department at IBC Real Estate, does not exclude.

The pause in the launch of new projects also affected commercial facilities, Nadezhda Korkka clarifies. Although, Olga Shlychkova believes, the format of a small shopping center, which is planned on the territory of the Otkrytoe Shosse transport hub, will be in demand. The share of foreign brands in such facilities is insignificant. In addition, the expert concludes, there is a shortage of high-quality retail space in the immediate surroundings.

Daria Andrianova