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Nika Pologovaya
The main trend in the real estate markets of Europe and the USA, which are followed by the development of the markets of large Russian cities, can be called a gradual shift in preferences towards the construction of large mixed-use facilities.
A multifunctional complex is a real estate object (or several objects) that combines premises with two or more operational purposes (shops, office space, entertainment venues), in which commercial and residential functions can be combined. In this case, as a rule, one of the functions is the main one.
Today, megacities are facing an acute problem of land shortage allocated for development of any type of facilities. The frantic pace of life, imperfect transport systems and many other nuances of life in cities with a population of over a million force us to look for new solutions to the problem and a way out of the current situation. In this regard, the active interest shown in universal multifunctional buildings by both buyers and tenants of real estate and market players is quite understandable.
However, the very concept of multifunctionality does not always have a real basis for such a name. Until now, the most common were the so-called trade and office complexes (a non-residential facility in which the main function is trade, while part of the building is occupied by office premises), or vice versa: the office part dominates with a relatively small trade component. At the same time, both functions of the facility, as a rule, are neutral in relation to each other.
Several years ago, it was precisely such areas (one- or two-way) that had the most attractive characteristics in terms of payback periods and construction costs.
These could be, as already mentioned, shopping and office centers, hotel and shopping or hotel and office complexes, shopping and entertainment or multifunctional residential complexes.
Their so-called limited multifunctionality, i.e. the presence of a dominant and one less developed module of additional areas, no longer meets market requirements today. Therefore, the emergence of truly large-scale multifunctional complexes with a rich infrastructure: entertainment part, hotel, apartments, etc., is one of the latest trends.
The creation of multifunctional complexes is due to the following advantages over highly specialized centers:
• efficient use of land and saving of resources (in particular energy resources);
• reduction of specific costs for the creation of the facility due to its scale;
• the possibility of flexible re-profiling with increasing competition in the market;
• the target audience has several reasons for visiting the facility;
• high investment attractiveness of the project, due to the reduction of risks due to the diversification of investments (investment in different types of real estate).
However, the construction of such objects brings with it not only positive features and the possibility of solving the problem, but also additional difficulties that most often arise during their creation:
• selection of the concept of the complex at the design stage (it is necessary to take into account the construction time and possible changes in the market during this period);
• zoning of the facility to avoid possible clashes of functions);
• application of a well-thought-out strategy for positioning and further promotion of the facility;
• it is necessary to take into account the specificity, cost of operation and management of the facility, and the constant maintenance of the building at a high quality level.
It is obvious that the presented segment is one of the most complex on the market: projects of multifunctional buildings require especially careful development. However, both in the capital and in the regions, there are already a lot of projects for the construction of multifunctional complexes.
Despite the fact that the hotel component appeared in the composition of multifunctional complexes later than the others, it is precisely this component that will soon become an integral part of the multi-complexes under construction. This is also due to the development of tourism and business activity in the state, respectively, the progressive deficit of areas for accommodating people, and, as a result, a successful investment of capital in an object that requires long-term investments, but as a result brings in income exceeding the return on the business center or its retail part.
Today, several such objects, which include hotels, operate in Moscow. These are the International Trade Center, the Swissotel Krasnye Holmy complex, and the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel. In 2008, the Moscow Hotel is planned to be put into operation, which can rightfully be called a multifunctional complex, since it will accommodate several zones of various purposes at once.
The largest projects are expected to be implemented in the Moscow City business district, where a large hotel component is also included.
Multifunctionality prolongs the profitability of the facility. The coordination of several components in one facility will allow the complex to generate income at different stages of its development (at first, retail space will generate profit, then offices, and then the hotel component, which will ultimately become the main financial flow).
With a competent calculation of all components at the design stage (from the design features of the complex as a whole to the final management and ownership of the building), the multifunctional complex should ultimately represent a kind of city that provides its «residents» with the necessary conditions for existence, which contributes to the growth of the popularity of the complex among the target audience. Investors, in turn, will receive an object that brings profit at all stages of the project's life: from the launch of the first stage (with proper planning, the object can be launched in stages) to the period of «obsolescence» of the areas and their partial re-profiling.
Evaluating the above, we can consider that the construction of multifunctional complexes today is rather a necessity and, as a consequence, an inevitability, allowing, on the one hand, to solve issues of infrastructure development of megacities, and on the other hand, to place capital for investors, which will bring profit in the future.
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