We'll Think About What to Do: Yaroslavl Shopping Center Empties Out
The «Old City» shopping center on Bolshaya Oktyabrskaya Street in Yaroslavl has been left empty. Almost all retail spaces in the building are closed. Only a chain discount store is operating on the first floor.
The 76.RU editorial team inquired with the owner, businessman Roman Galagaev, about what is happening with the shopping complex.
«I can»t say for sure yet, I only recently started dealing with this issue again. But since the situation is unusual, there could be various reasons: some moved out or some closed down. I read yesterday that 37 restaurants closed in Moscow. Demand is falling somewhere, probably. It«s a non-standard situation after all. We»ll think about what to do,« noted Roman Galagaev.
The entrance to the shopping center remains open. A 76.RU photographer captured what is currently happening in the «Old City».
The «Old City» shopping center was once a hub for locals. The complex opened in December 1997 and belonged to the city mayor«s office. It was something like a covered clothing market. In the early 2000s, this shopping center was one of the largest and most popular in Yaroslavl.
In 2018, the authorities sold it to the Galagaev family, well-known businessmen in Yaroslavl. By that time, the «Old City» had paled in comparison to the modern shopping centers opening across the city. The new owners decided to revive the complex by modernizing it. The reconstruction project was carried out by Italians. More than 500 million rubles (roughly $5.4 million at current rates) were invested in the renovation.
The updated shopping center opened in August 2022. The first floor was intended for food retail, the second for clothing. A food court area was also placed on the second floor. During the opening, the shopping center was half-empty. But the owners assumed that the spaces would be fully occupied within a few months. However, this did not happen. Moreover, tenants, on the contrary, began moving out of the building.
