OREANDA-NEWS. On 14 April 2008 was announced, that XXI Century had been picking up the pace on its regional property projects in 2007–2008. Two construction projects have been launched in Sevastopol: a multi-use complex covering 91,500 sq m that includes a residential block and a Kvadrat shopping and recreation center, and a residential project with a total area of 70,000 sq m. Work has begun in L’viv to tear down existing buildings on a site where plans are to build a multi-use complex with a total area of 88,500 sq m. Containing a Kvadrat SRC and an office center, the preliminary plans for this project have already been approved by the Urban Planning and Architecture Committee of the City of L’viv. A 715,000 sq m multi-use complex for the City of Poltava is at the planning documentation stage and has already had approval from the Urban Planning and Architecture Committee of that city. In April, the preliminary plans for a multi-use complex covering 112,000 sq m is expected to be approved by the City of Cherkasy.

The company is also developing a network of warehouse complexes across Ukraine. At the moment, plans for 9 such centers have been developed, covering a total of 900,000 sq m. Construction for warehouse complexes is expected to begin shortly in Vyshhorod, where the green light has been given for preparatory work. In Q2’08, planning documentation in the P phase is expected to be approved for a warehouse complex in Odesa.

Altogether, XXI Century is developing projects in 12 regional cities and towns in Ukraine: L’viv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Boryspil, Vyshhorod, Donetsk, Alupka, and Cherkasy.

XXI Century’s work in the regions is based on a clear development strategy. Its approach to carrying out regional property projects is grounded in the principle of strategic partnership. For instance, in Kharkiv, a company called XXI Century–Kharkiv was established with a local developer at the end of 2007, and is already putting together 5 projects in the city.

The company began developing its regional projects in 2006. In 2007, it developed its portfolio of projects and project plans were prepared. By the beginning of 2008, many of these projects moved into the second phase, including actual construction. XXI Century plans to work in all of Ukraine’s “millionaire” cities as well as in other cities with a population of at least 300,000. For this reason, it is prepared to consider a variety of proposals from local landowners and developers.

“Today, many developers are looking into the possibility of expanding real estate projects in the regions,” says Georgiy Tsahareishvili, XXI Century’s manager for real estate development. “This is tied to the fact that there are greater opportunities and fewer competitors, approvals are easier to get, and generally every phase of a project is easier to carry out.”