December 18, 2012. 11 new prospective areas suitable for the commercial estate development have been added to the city map within the framework of a strategic project called Yekaterinburg’s Shopping Points. As a result, the total number of ‘shopping points’ that are located in the capital of the Mid-Urals rose to 79.

Yekaterinburg Council reports that among the areas in whose development they will invest most heavily will be the promising ones within the radius of the Mid-Way Ring Road such as Academic, Kalinovsky, and Shuvakish Districts. The new commercial estate will be put up in accordance with the needs of those who dwell in the nearby apartment buildings.

‘Academic district only houses some small businesses based on the ground floors of apartment blocks at the moment, there are no large companies there. In 2014-2015, the first medium-sized (37,000 sq m) shopping mall will be opened there, and around 2020, a large shopping mall with a parking lot and an entertainment area will be put up in the district,’ says Yekaterinburg Council Deputy Chair of the Commodities Market Committee Natalya Firstova.