Business park to be developed instead of Gate Tallinn outlet mall
Trigon Capital has planned an outlet mall in the vicinity of Tallinn for years, but as the market situation has changed, the Gate Tallinn development near Saue will instead focus on developing suitable plots for logistics companies instead of retail stores.
Trigon founder and board chairman Joakim Helenius said the development waited for IKEA to be a possible anchor tenant, but the IKEA store is now being developed in a different location - Kurna village, near Tallinn.
"It was in the plans for years to make this mall with an anchor tenant. But nothing came of it, IKEA decided to go elsewhere and this project has now become a logistics center," Helenius said.
The development was initially supposed to have an outlet mall. "People would have been offered services at prices found nowhere else. But since nothing came of that concept, we needed to go in a different direction," Helenius added.
Trigon Property board member Rando Tomingas said there are no retail areas planned for the Gate Tallinn development, since there is not too much space for it on the market.
"We could say the works are basically finished, we started building out the infrastructure for the entire area - communications, roads. It will all be completed by the end of November, we just need permits," Tomingas noted.
He said multiple plots in the development are already sold with Japanese tool maker Makita being among the first companies. Makita plans to develop an assembly building, a showroom and a training center on the property.
"There will be no large retail surfaces, as initially planned. The concept has changed," Tomingas said, adding that most of the development will consist of commercial premises and warehouses with offices.
Makita's warehouse should be completed in 2023. "Construction activity can be seen next year," Tomingas said.
He noted that the demand for logistics premises during the coronavirus pandemic is among the reasons why the development has now steered away from retail stores.
"That is the way I see it, yes, there are eventually caps. Of course, maybe this Covid will benefit us - e-commerce and logistics is exactly what is hot on the market currently," Tomingas noted.
The Gate Tallinn development consists of more than 60 hectares of land and was initially planned to have commercial and residential areas near Saue, some 20 minutes from Tallinn.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
