However the markets of Central Europe and East remain underequipped

The black cow! A name predestined, which would bring misfortune as the black cat Signs tenants of the shopping centre so curiously named of Arcueil (Val-de-Marne), less than 1 kilometre from the boulevard périphérique Paris, could legitimately wonder. One year after its opening in September 2007, they are worried about in any case of poor figures of activity, with cuts that can go up to 40. And faced with a categorical "niet" of the owner, ING, to any renegotiation of the rental. Then, the fault for the crisis Yes, but not only because of its impact on consumption. Because if, as noted it the specialized firm Cushman & Wakefield, the shopping centres and business parks suffer further slowing down the shopping streets of downtown, the overall economic by Procos, sales not collapse not, they are stagnating.

For Michel Pazoumian, Delegate General of the Federation that represents 220 signs, the black cow could also emblematic of the excesses of the "financialization" of commercial urbanism that it denounces. "There is still a fundamental to respect", storm the expert listing the intrinsic problems at the centre: a Monoprix for locomotive, when there is not a Cora hypermarket to two; parking access difficult; an area to the small purchasing power... And cite, among other bad examples, the Gallery of the Champ de Mars to Angoulême or Thiais Village (Val-de-Marne), outside the Ikea has difficulty with very solid centre of Belle-Epine competition. "The crisis will allow to return to the fundamentals", however, welcomes Michel Pazoumian, who is betting on a division twice in two years, the number of metres square project, such as lists them Procos.

742 projects in France

October 10, 2008, the professional organisation was not less than 742 projects in France, that is 20 higher than earlier this year, to 8.8 million square metres, a record in Europe! And one third of them have already obtained an authorization. But the French commercial real estate market suffers severe brake first stroke. Some 680,000 metres square project have thus been abandoned between January and October, which for factory stores, with "retail park" these pit Business Park and a few more conventional operations. And on 75 major projects listed by Procos, for their size and their structuring dimension on the commercial offer of a city or region, some 30 are suspended, if not purely and simply abandoned. As it anticipated late September in Budapest for "Les Echos" Laurent Morel, Manager of malls Ségécé Manager (a subsidiary of Klépierre which he has to take the chairmanship of the Executive Board), then its "European day of signs", they have difficulty financing their expansion plans and slow to make their decisions, while operators were more difficult to complete the financing of their projects because of the tightening of credit conditions.

"It is possible that some projects beyond 2009 be deferred because of the uncertainties darkening the Outlook for economic growth of a large number of countries." However, the markets of Central Europe and East remain underequipped. The countries of Western Europe, the vast majority of new projects or extensions which construction began will be completed. "Only a small number of them will be deferred due to lack of funding", believes Christian Dubois, Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield France, quoted in a news release.

In France, projects continue to promote downtowns and contribute to the re-dynamisation of their commercial offer, observed the specialized cabinet. Especially in medium-sized cities and regional cities, with the recent openings of the Aubette centres and Rivétoile in Strasbourg, or door young in Mulhouse.

The cure of rejuvenation of existing malls continues also in first Crown Ile-de-France where, after the delivery of the docks of Ivry (ex-Ivry big sky) at the beginning of the year, the work was completed to O'Parinor, to lay the surface of the centre of Aulnay-sous-Bois to 90.000 m2 real estate as in the province, in the image of the ambitious project of Immochan, subsidiary of the Group Auchan, Pérolsnear Montpellier.

New opportunities

If in the short term prospects appear negative, both for the rental market (despite the damper of commercial rent index, read below) that for the market of the investment due to the degradation of the national and international economic environment, the rehabilitation of 300 to 1,000 m2 of the threshold for authorization of implementation of the commercial surfaces should nevertheless create new opportunities in the downtown. As the future reform of urban commercial development on which the Government is committed and that it will present early 2009 after a first step under the law passed this summer LME should finally register trade in a strategy of urban planning and development, into the common law of urban development. Clearly, any new commercial project will not be to go through an administrative authorisation procedure to get the building permit. "A true revolution", says Michel Pazoumian.