Multi starts construction of first Ukrainian mall

Multi Development has started construction of its first shopping centre project in Ukraine.

Forum Lviv shopping centre in the inner city of Lviv covers an area of 69,000 m2 with retail, restaurants, entertainment, a cinema and an underground car park.

Multi is developing Forum Lviv together with two Ukrainian real estate partners, Galereja Centre and Bud House Group.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and UniCredit are responsible for financing the construction of the project. The opening of Forum Lviv is planned for the first quarter of 2015.

Multi’s in-house design group, T+T Design, is responsible for the design, while the Lviv office of architectural firm Tebodin is responsible for the technical execution. Multi is using the services of Key Group to lead the design and construction process, so that Forum Lviv will be the first project in Ukraine to be awarded a BREEAM certificate.

Multi has already leased more than 70% of the shop units to Ukrainian retailers such as Amstor (supermarket), Comfy (electronics), Brocard (perfumes) and international retailers including Reserved, Marc O’ Polo, Ecco, Geox, Timberland, Pandora and Urban United.

Lease agreements have recently been signed with Igroland (children’s amusement centre) and Planeta Kino (cinema). The underground car park with 620 spaces is the first large-scale parking infrastructure in the centre and thus a first for Lviv.

Lviv, which lies near to the Polish border, is the cultural and economic centre of Western Ukraine. The city has more than 700,000 inhabitants and plays an important regional role. The centre was incorporated into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998 and dates mostly from the Habsburg period. Lviv is increasingly popular with tourists, also due to the successful organization of Euro 2012 in the city.

'Multi’s first shopping centre in the Ukraine is the result of the dedication and commitment of our team, our Ukrainian real estate partners and the financiers. We consider it a privilege that our first project in the Ukraine is in the beautiful city of Lviv,' said Multi CEO Heino Vink.

'The development has had a long lead time and the start of construction is an important step forward for Multi Ukraine. The fact that more than 70% of the retail space is already leased confirms that we were right to have confidence in our project,' he added.

See CityLeaders for more on Lviv and development projects in the city.