By KYIV. Dec 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – All retail space in the Kharkiv-based Nikolsky shopping and entertainment center, damaged in a Russian missile attack, has been restored and handed over to tenants for adaptation, the Budhouse Group press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
“The decision to gradually restore the shopping center was made back in April 2022. The Russians were located 10 km from the city, but we understood that it was necessary to repair the damage before winter to protect the building. In addition, people could use the underground floors as shelter. Also the city needed infrastructure – almost all the stores in Kharkiv were closed, so we decided to open underground floors with a Silpo supermarket and a parking lot as a shelter and at the same time prepare other floors for opening,” Budhouse Group Chief Operations Officer Maksym Havriushyn said.
He expressed the hope that the opening of Nikolsky and other businesses in the city was one of the factors in the return of many people to Kharkiv at that time.
As reported, in March 2022, a Russian missile hit the roof of the Nikolsky shopping center, destroying a ventilation chamber on the fifth floor and passing through two more floors. The dome, facade, almost half of the climate and ventilation equipment, glass structures on the facade and multimedia facade screens were damaged. Inside, the explosion almost completely destroyed the atrium fence, many glass display cases, finishing of the second-fourth floors, multimedia screens and decor.
Direct damage from the missile hit neared $18 million. Nikolsky’s indirect losses, including loss of capitalization, reached around $150 million for 2022.
