09.05.2011                      05.Ijar, 5771                      Gedenktag; Tag 20 des Omer; Ta'anit BH"B

Grosse Eröffnung:

Leviev's grand opening for flagship AFI Moscow project to feature half-empty mall

Leases have been signed for 78% of the leasable area, a portion of which include temporary discounts or initial grace periods.

In just two weeks Moscow's AFIMall will celebrate its long-awaited grand opening, but the event might be characterized more by a whimper than a bang if disappointing projections released by Lev Leviev's Africa Israel Investments hold fast. The company issued a special report Thursday at the request of the Israel Securities Authority to update investors on occupancy rates for the flagship project of the group's operating arm in Russia, AFI Development.
The mall, with a capacity of about 350 stores and leasable space of around 100,000 square meters, is expected to have just 200 stores and 61% of its space occupied at the gala affair. This ranks among the lowest opening day occupancy rates for projects of this scope….