The construction of the Ratina shopping centre will begin in April with excavation work on the new Valo-Ratina building, and the shopping centre is estimated to be completed in spring 2018.
The project’s total investment, including the land value, is estimated at approximately €240M, with some €40M invested to date. The target development margin is 15 per cent and the estimated yield on cost at completion is 7.5 per cent.
The shopping centre’s pre-let rate is about 30 per cent.
"The Ratina shopping centre is Sponda’s largest property development project. The decision to move forward with the Ratina shopping centre is big news for the city of Tampere and commerce in the Pirkanmaa region, as the new shopping centre will support the city’s growth and appeal as a place to live in and travel to. It will reinvigorate the underused Ratina district. In addition, the shopping centre will have direct and long-term effects on employment", says Kari Inkinen, President and CEO of Sponda Plc.
The aim is to bring shops to Ratina shopping centre that have not previously been seen in the Pirkanmaa region. The shopping centre will include two grocery stores, specialty shops selling products and services in the areas of fashion, wellness, interior design and recreation, as well as a diverse range of restaurants and cafés.
Examples of the new shopping centre’s tenants include K-Supermarket, Lidl, H&M, Fitness 24 Seven and Tullinkulma Occupational Health Centre.
The shopping centre will be located in the Ratina district, next to the bus station and Tampere Stadium. In addition to the newly constructed Valo-Ratina building, the shopping centre will include two existing functionalist buildings, Ranta-Ratina and Funkkis-Ratina, which will be renovated in a manner that preserves their character and heritage. Moving between buildings will be convenient in any weather through indoor passageways.
Environmental aspects will be a high priority at the Ratina shopping centre. For example, the cooling of the shopping centre will utilise the cool water masses that flow through Ratina Bay, and the heat generated by the shops’ refrigeration equipment will be utilised in heating the property. Warm air that has circulated in the interior of the shopping centre is used to heat the parking facilities. The aim is to apply for international Breeam environmental certification for the shopping centre.
FACTS/ SPONDA
Sponda’s office, retail, shopping centres and logistics properties are located in the largest cities in Finland and Russia. The properties in Finland are mainly located in the Helsinki metropolitan area and in Oulu, Tampere and Turku. In Russia Sponda owns properties in St Petersburg and Moscow.
The total leasable area of Sponda's investment properties is about 1.2 million sqm and consists of office and retail space, shopping centres and logistics properties. The fair value of the property portfolio is approximately € 3.1 billion (31 Dec 2014).