A city of towers

The flagship of any country is its capital, which is why Moscow now aims to be a city of skyscrapers, and the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ is the bold scheme to achieve this

Emil Górecki

Moscow is Russia’s largest and most populous city, covering an area of more than1,000 sq km. Despite having a network of wide roads, one of the greatest problems it faces is the continual traffic congestion; therefore, the city authorities are hoping to develop local centres further away from Red Square. One such concept is the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ (Novoe kolco Moskvy), a truly bold and gigantic project, even by Moscow standards: to build as many as 200 tower buildings by 2015.

A new old plan

The ‘New Ring’ investment scheme was approved by the city council in February 1999, and drawn up by the Scientific Research and Design Institute, which has been entrusted with preparing a general plan for Moscow. As many as 200 tower buildings of over 30-storeys and with a variety of designs, are to be built around the city’s historical centre, on 62 sites belonging to the city. The plots are situated on the conurbation’s outskirts and will spread over a large area, while the tower buildings are to form a compact grand city panorama. Each tower will have its own specific multifunctional complex, creating a local centre with public services, retail outlets and offices. The obvious question is: why are the authorities putting such great emphasis on this project? Their primary aim is to upgrade the post-industrial land on the city’s outskirts and to demolish the old 5-storey residential buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s. The new buildings are to substantially increase the availability of high-standard housing in shabby dilapidated districts and to create alternative focal points for the traffic-jammed city.

But another aspect of this plan is to enhance the prestige of Moscow and to idnetify it with a new urban-style, similar to that enjoyed by New York and Tokyo.

I was told by executives of the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ company, which has been set up by the city authorities to carry out the project, that: “The task we face is to prepare the documentation for each plot and to draw up an initial concept for the buildings to be constructed on them. We shall then organize tenders in which investors will be chosen, after which we shall monitor the development until the very point of its completion. When undertaking these projects, investors may change their size, but only by 10 pct. All the post-tender formalities, as well as securing finance for the projects, are the responsibility of the winner of the tender.”

Councillors set the pace

The company, which was established in 1999, is entirely owned by the urban properties department. However, the development of the project has been put on hold for the next four years, with the explanation given by the company that work is proceeding on the legal basis and the system for deciding tenders. Lada Belaychuk, a Cushman & Wakefield/Stiles & Riabokobylko analyst, is of the opinion that the city authorities “bit off more than they could chew” with these plans, since investors were simply not ready to undertake such a huge a project. On top of this, city officials were also guilty of dragging their heels when drafting the legal basis, the lists of addresses and other documents. The situation changed in 2003 when the Urban Commission for High-Rise Developments was set up. The effect of this was that construction work on the first buildings started in 2005, but this success is tempered by the fact that as little as ten years remain in which to carry out the entire plan. Officials of the company, however, remain relaxed, explaining that: “It is not certain that by 2015 all the buildings will have been delivered. It is our mission to find an investor for all the buildings that are to be constructed. We would like to have all the tenders completed within the next seven years, so in the subsequent 4-5 years - following the tenders - the skyscrapers will have been delivered.”

Much too slowly

According to Cushman & Wakefield/Stiles & Riabokobylko, problems are arising in finding investors who wish to participate in this mammoth project. But Valerij Zhylov, the general director of ‘New Ring of Moscow’, assures us that large, stable Russian companies have decided to put their money into the scheme. The Konti Corporation is one such company. Its two residential projects include: a 43-storey building finished in 2007, the Edelweiss tower, with a total area of 105,000 sqm; and the 48-storey Kontinental, with a total area of 150,000 sqm. Lada Belaychuk of Cushman & Wakefield/Stiles & Riabokobylko, argues that: “The biggest problem of the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ is the distance from attractive locations on the city’s outskirts, combined with the disproportionate cost of purchasing and executing these projects. But should the city authorities succeed in finding investors in the next 2-3 years, and should they accept detailed plans within the next two years, then the development of these towers by 2015 is possible - but it will be no mean feat.”

In the initial plans drawn up by the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ company, the new skyscrapers were to be used mainly for commercial purposes, but today it is believed more than half of them will contain flats and apartments. This is likely to be due to the notably lower than expected returns on capital: flats sell very quickly in the city and at high prices. Three of the planned complexes will also be earmarked for the use of the city authorities, with the headquarters of Moscow Bank to be housed in one of these, on Preobrazhensky Sq.

The first two buds

Only two buildings have materialized so far in the ‘New Ring of Moscow’. The first is the aforementioned one on Davidovska St. developed by Konti Company. The second is the Monte Falcone ‘B+’ class office building at Siemienovski (35,000 sqm space) developed by VIKA-Invest. Three other towers are at various stages of construction, while the design work on seven more is under way, with a further 23 projects awaiting tender procedures. Well House on Leninsky Prospekt is one of the projects being carried out by the Mirax Group – a 46-storey office and residential building, with a total area of 165,000 sqm, and which is to be delivered before the end of 2008. Siergiei Polonski, the president of Mirax Group’s supervisory board, remarks that: “We cannot rule out further participation in the ‘New Ring of Moscow’ project, as it all depends on how attractive this investment will be and on our own potential.”

Ring sting

The scheme’s principal problem is the lack of experience necessary for undertaking such a huge project, combined with the absence of geological documentation, technical tower-building construction standards and infrastructure - as well as the ambiguous designation of some of the buildings. Even the project’s authors admit that the scheme has more problems than positive aspects.

I was informed by the company’s office that: “Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, actually sent the ‘New Ring’ plan back for redrafting in November 2007. Many problems also arose when performing preparation work on the plots to be built on, due to their vague legal status. However, the amended scheme is to be ready as early as April this year.” According to Lada Belaychuk, the whole plan will have to be far more detailed in order to speed up its execution, as it is moving at a much slower pace than was originally envisaged. n