Sergei Sobyanin: Comprehensive area development will define how Moscow is going to look in the next 100 years

Reorganizing industrial areas opens up new possibilities for Moscow’s development, said Sergei Sobyanin in his blog. A smart approach to utilizing those areas helps set up high tech production sites and business centers, social facilities and public spaces.

“Modern industry just doesn’t need that much land. A factory that makes products worth billions of rubles can take up a couple of floors in a technopark,” pointed out Moscow Mayor. “But there’s a catch. Industrial areas are privately owned, and often by multiple owners. Generally, they have trouble reaching any common ground, and to be frank, they don’t particularly want to change anything. Rent money keeps coming: great. Why fix something that isn’t broken? But that’s absolutely not what the city authorities and Muscovites are after.

A few years ago, in order to make the ball rolling, we had to petition the President. As a result, we got the Act on Comprehensive Area Development (CAD). That was when the Moscow Government were authorized to implement projects in that field.

If the owners of an industrial area don’t mind realizing the project, they can do that themselves. Otherwise, the city purchases the land or attracts an investor in the project through a bidding procedure.

In some cases, a municipal operator, like Technopolis Moscow or Moscow Residential Development Renovation Fund may act as an investor. The work is already in full swing. 25 projects that cover 366 hectares of land in total are at active stage,” clarified Mr. Sobyanin.

The projects provide for modern industrial sites and technoparks (total footprint 1.8 million square meters) being built on that land. They are going to create 87,000 new jobs in various fields. Investments amounted to about RUB 705 billion in total.

Comprehensive area development is work that is going to last a couple of decades; its results will define how Moscow is going to look in the next 100 years.

New polyclinics, apartment houses and education facilities.

The first comprehensive area development contract was signed in 2020. It was about reorganizing the Oktyabrskoye Pole industrial area.

An apartment house with an integrated polyclinic has already been commissioned. The polyclinic is capable of admitting 150 visitors per work shift. Plans include building nearly 185,000 square meters of real estate, including 161,700 square meters of residential housing. There’s also going to be a school and a technopark.

Under a CAD program, Koptevo area will get 550,000 square meters of real estate where old warehouses used to be. Of those, 502,700 square meters are residential, including 90,000 square meters under the renovation program, and 47,500 square meters for public and business buildings. There are also going to be social facilities, including a kindergarten and a school.

The layout has been approved; work on the design documents is underway.

A modern neighborhood will be built in Zyuzino, also under the renovation program. 139,900 square meters of residential estate for those who are relocating are to be built there. The design also covers a kindergarten and public facilities that will create new jobs.

Plans also include building public and business facilities in Solntsevo. Their total footprint is going to be 134,200 square meters. Among them are a gym with a pool and a sports arena, a dental clinic and a female health center. The layout has been approved; a municipal operator is in charge of it.

In Timiryazevsky district, construction is going to start in the area with an unfinished parking garage. The plan is to build a business center with offices, shops, banks and sports clubs: 50,000 square meters in total. The layout for the area has been approved; work on the design documents is underway.