The past year 2022 was marked in Russia by a particularly large number of fires in shopping centers. These are expensive objects, losses from their destruction are estimated in billions of rubles. Insurers are honing their ingenuity by offering new retail protection programs. But not only insurance dries the tears of victims of fire. The fire covers thousands of square meters, the destruction of large markets and shopping centers can release entire hectares for new construction. And these areas can be useful to someone.
“The fire contributed a lot to her decoration”
It is difficult to notice a general pattern in the causes and consequences of fires. In August, a warehouse of the Ozon company was on fire in Istra. The fire area is 75 thousand square meters, the declared damage is more than 10 billion rubles. The warehouse building, built only a year ago, burned out completely along with all the goods. As a result, the roof collapsed, and the remains of the building burned down for several days. Among the main versions of the incident, the investigation calls a wiring short circuit or arson. In November, all news agencies drew attention to a fire in the center of the capital. Thick smoke was visible from the square of the three stations, the comments are monotonous: due to non-compliance with safety precautions during the welding work, a flower warehouse caught fire near the Leningradsky railway station. It was equipped in a former railway wagon hangar and rented out. Seven people died in the fire.
During the darkest month of December, the shopping malls burned especially brightly. First, in St. Petersburg, one small store of the Irinovsky auto center caught fire. The area of the fire was 500 square meters, in a matter of minutes the fire spread throughout the market. As a result, one building was seriously damaged by fire and collapsed. OBI Franchise Center LLC in its reports showed a loss of 1.6 billion rubles for 2021. And in December 2022, a store in Khimki caught fire at OBI from welding work on the roof. A security guard of the hypermarket died in the fire, the building was completely destroyed, and several strong explosions occurred during the burning. The damage is specified, but it is from 20 billion to 30 billion rubles. In this story, the name of Senator Arsen Kanokov is dully mentioned.
Literally a few days later, the shopping center “Stroypark” caught fire in Balashikha near Moscow. The owner of Krom Market LLC, the fire area is 10 thousand square meters.
“Sindica”
The “fire epidemic” continued in the coming year. First, a brief history of the issue. Arsen Kanokov headed Kabardino-Balkaria for eight years. In 2013, he became a senator from this republic. Russian Forbes estimates his fortune at $ 750 million and assigns 160th line in the ranking of the richest Russians. He is the founder, and his family members are the owners of the Sindika group of companies, which owns 10 hotels, three of which are in Sochi, shopping malls with a total area of more than 460,000 sq m and hotels with a total stock of 2,721 rooms in different regions of the country.
The group of companies ranks 19th in the Forbes Kings of Real Estate 2021 ranking. Among the assets of the Kanokovs is the Sindika shopping center at the 65th kilometer of the Moscow Ring Road. It burned down in October 2017. The fire then covered 55 thousand square meters, the shopping center burned out completely. It was promised to be rebuilt in a year and a half. The losses of the owners amount to at least 5.5 billion rubles, the losses of several hundred tenants – at least another 6 billion rubles.
More than 350 people and over 180 pieces of equipment, including robotics and three helicopters, were involved in the elimination of the fire. It took two days to extinguish. Arson and a violation of safety rules were cited as possible causes of the fire. The sum insured under the contract was 4.2 billion rubles, the insurer was VTB Insurance, but most of the amount was reinsured by the world’s leading insurers, the payment from them amounted to 3.6 billion rubles. For the rest of the amount, the fire victims sued the insurers. The court ordered them to pay another 766 million rubles.
Sindika solemnly promised: a temporary shopping complex, consisting of nine pavilions and two warehouses, will open in the same place. Long-range plans were not published.
New friend
The Ministry of Housing Policy of the Moscow Region confirmed the intention by issuing a permit for the construction of the Sindika shopping center in Odintsovo. The shopping complex was planned to be built by the fourth quarter of 2021.
As it turned out now, the plans were adjusted. Perhaps the Kanokov family took into account the experience of the co-owners of the Summa Group, the Magomedov brothers, and made friends with the right people.
Back in 2021, Sindika and the developer Samolet quietly announced that they had considered a joint project to restore the burned-out market and build a residential complex on this territory. They intend to start the construction of a residential area in early 2023, then the construction of a shopping center will begin.
In its memorandum, Samolet honestly warned: two persons related to the Samolet Group are connected with officials of the Moscow Region, where the developer’s current projects are concentrated. Probably, this was an additional element of the developer’s advertising.
It’s 2023. And just on January 28, a fire broke out again at the Sindika market. Its area was 2.1 thousand square meters. m. According to preliminary data, paint and varnish products were stored in a two-story room, that is, it burned well. Sindika immediately reported that the fire in the market would not change plans for housing construction. A new residential complex is planned to be erected on a site next to a burned-out building materials warehouse. Such a neighborhood will be convenient for new settlers …
Regarding the fire-dangerous Sindica, it remains to warn about this. In February 2021, Sindika bought the Moskvoretsky market with an area of about 25,000 sq m. By the time of this purchase from Gremm Group, the market consisted of a gastronomic area with a food court, a food market in street malls and a construction market with goods for repairs. It was considered the most visited in the capital (before the pandemic, the facility was visited by more than 1 million people a month). The main part of the proceeds was brought by the food block. And in the kitchens, clumsy cooks sometimes use open fires. No matter how “Airplane” flew to this market …
