Ocean for Kyiv, retail parks for the regions. Which shopping centers will open in 2026?

Around 20 shopping malls may open in Ukraine in 2026, according to the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers. This is twice as many as in 2025, when only ten facilities opened.The largest number of new shopping malls is expected to appear in Zakarpattia. In Kyiv, one of the legendary long-term construction projects may be launched. Lesia Solovchuk's report covers which shopping malls are being prepared for opening and what will be there.Why has the construction of shopping malls intensified?One of the trends for 2025 is an increase in investment in the retail real estate market. This has added momentum to the construction of shopping malls."There is a surplus of liquidity. Investors understand that money should be invested not only in housing but also in retail real estate," explains Maksym Havryushyn, head of the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers and COO of the development company Budhouse Group. According to him, investors are primarily interested in properties of 3,000 – 8,000 sq. m. These are small and medium-sized formats.Investing in such retail real estate is profitable today, according to Petro Punyak, co-founder of WR Group. His company builds shopping centers in small towns in Ukraine. The average return on investment is 15% per annum, but there are projects where the return was 20-25%, he emphasized during his speech at the RAU Summit 2025 forum.The most popular format is retail parks. These are small facilities consisting of a large parking lot and several single-story buildings with a dozen stores of various formats. Retail parks are cheaper to build than shopping malls, Roman Kurytskyi, founder of Building Development, emphasizes in a comment to LIGA.net.On average, a project of 3,000-5,000 square meters can be implemented in a year to a year and a half. The construction cost is $1,000 per square meter. "The next five years in Ukraine will be the time of retail parks," Kurytskyi is convinced.In addition, due to relatively low capital investments, retail parks pay off faster than shopping malls. "It is also much easier to find tenants and quickly enter the market," explains Volodymyr Chekalov, CEO of the consulting company Urban-X.Read alsoMore than in Lviv. A boom in shopping malls has emerged in ZakarpattiaWhat retail facilities will be launched in 2026?However, the lion's share of new shopping malls will welcome shoppers in the western regions of the country, notes Maksym Havryushyn, head of the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers and COO of the development company Budhouse Group.His construction company, Budhaus, is not currently planning to unfreeze projects in eastern Ukraine. "The east and south are on hold. We are not ready to return to work due to the unstable security situation," he says. Budhaus has a shopping mall project in Zaporizhzhia, and the company's website lists 2018 as the opening year.As for new shopping malls, one will open in a few weeks. Rosvyhivskyi Shopping Center in Mukachevo, with an area of 8,500 square meters, announced Andriy Lototsky, CEO of Retail&amp;Development Advisor.Prostor, Luxoptica, Zolotaya Kraina, Tabakerka, Sinsay, House, Sezon, and Solmar are expected to open there. The latter three brands are Ukrainian clothing manufacturers.According to Lototskyi, Retail&amp;Development Advisor plans to launch five more facilities this year. These are A7 shopping center in Ivano-Frankivsk, the rest in Zakarpattia: three retail parks and the Ukraina shopping center.The largest retail facilities in Zakarpattia are scheduled to open in 2026. In addition to those mentioned, there is another one. Zahrava Retail Park in Berehove and the second stage Korona Shopping Mall (14,000 m²) in Uzhhorod, Colliers Ukraine confirmed.Read also"Now, nearby and inexpensive." Polish Sinsay opens hundreds of stores in Ukraine during the warIn Lviv, two facilities are planned to open on the outskirts. These are Kvartal City in the Riasne microdistrict and Road Park on the ring road near the village of Vynnyky.Anchored in Kvartal City The new additions will include an IMAX cinema with 400 seats, a spacious food court spanning 2,000 square meters, and the Fly Kids children's entertainment center.Road park, with an area of 10,000 square meters, is aimed at motorists and suburban residents. ATB, Fora, KFC, Sinsay, and Yves Rocher are interested in the location, according to REM100 development, which is building the Road park.The retail park is also scheduled to open at the end of January. Obriy Tatariv on 8000 sq. meters. The facility is located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, on the way to the Bukovel ski resort. The list of tenants includes the Torba supermarket, Sinsay, Andi, and a footwear giant. SSS, Jysk, Lviv Croissant, OKWine, EVA, Podorozhnyk pharmacy, Belli zoo pet store, and others.A children's entertainment center called "Kraina Mriy" and an Epicenter store are also planned to open here. reported The project developer is Alterra Group.Read alsoThe Gulliver skyscraper in Kyiv has been closed indefinitely.The largest shopping mall in Ternopil is – "Podolyany" – announced the opening of the second phase of the complex in December 2025. After its completion, its area will increase by a third – from 50,000 to 71,000 square meters. One of the innovations is a modern anti-radiation shelter of 3,000 square meters, with showers and a bathroom. The shelter will be able to accommodate about 4,500 people at a time. And this is the first large anti-radiation shelter in western Ukraine, the shopping mall told LIGA.net.Ocean and friends. Kyiv in anticipation of the scaleAfter a pause in the opening of new shopping centers in Kyiv, several new facilities may appear in the capital in 2026. The most anticipated opening of the year for the market should be Ocean Mall Shopping Center, located almost adjacent to the existing one Ocean Plaza.Ocean Mall has an exceptional area: 300,000 sq. meters of total area and 117,000 sq. meters of leasable area. 30,000 sq. meters are allocated for the entertainment part. This will be an important step for the development of modern retail in Ukraine, explainsLIGA.net Hanna Koryahina, International Leasing Director at Nhood.Nhood, an international real estate operator specializing in the management and modernization of shopping centers, retail parks, and urban spaces, is responsible for the brokering of Ocean Mall.The shopping mall will focus on creating a carefully curated mix of international and local brands. "We expect a high occupancy rate for Ocean Mall, as there is significant interest from retailers," said Hanna Karyagina. Among the new additions are brands entering the Ukrainian market for the first time.Earlier, the project owner Vagif Aliyev, who bought Ocean Mall for $20 million from Vasyl Khmelnytsky, according to the UTRC, announced his intention to build the shopping mall by the end of 2018, but the date The opening was constantly postponed.Karyakina does not say in which month Ocean Mall is to open, but, as it became known, LIGA.net, This could happen in April, and the tenants could be shops. Inditex – Zara, Bershka, etc. This was revealed by a top manager of one of the companies owned by Aliyev on condition of anonymity.A Development, owned by Oleksiy Baranov, also announced two new shopping mall launches in Kyiv. These are White Lines on the territory of the residential complex of the same name in Holosiiv and "Pasazh" Shopping Mall near the Arsenalna metro station. Another shopping center with an area of 6,000 sq. m will be opened by Taryan Group.in the Taryan Towers residential complex and bUd development in the Start residential complex on Sholudenka Street.Read also"Ready to 'eat up' vacant locations." How the closure of English Home and Athletics affects shopping malls

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