New view of Moscow: Changing appearance of former industrial zones

Former Moscow industrial zones are becoming modern city spaces more often. Today it is difficult to imagine the city without the Vinzavod Modern Art Centre or the Bolshevik Cultural and Business Complex or without the transformed ZIL and the Hammer and Sickle industrial zones. Offices and cafes have opened in the renovated buildings; residential quarters and social facilities are built on newly cleared land; infrastructure is being developed; and jobs are being created.

Moscow is not the first metropolis in the world to expand due to the development of abandoned industrial sites. However, it was only in 2017 that the legal framework was created for the comprehensive development of former industrial zones. Read this mos.ru article on how the city, land owners and private investors cooperate to create new modern living spaces.

Search for investors and development plans

Over the past three years the Moscow Government has reviewed the status all Moscow industrial zones, which cover almost 15,000 hectares. Some of these areas are occupied by operating enterprises, and some have other businesses and facilities. One third of industrial zones were free, or almost 5,400 hectares, with 2,000 hectares or so suitable for redevelopment projects. 

Before implementing a redevelopment programme, it is necessary to go through 14 different approvals. The city took over this work to help land owners attract new investors. As of today, Moscow has signed two contracts with businesses to develop the former Oktyabrskoye Pole and Korovino industrial zones .

 “The first contract on complex redevelopment in Russia was signed for Oktyabrskoye Pole. A beautified area to work and live in will be created by 2027 in place of a former precast concrete plant covering six hectares. There will be a new high-tech industrial park, residential buildings and all the necessary infrastructure, including kindergartens, schools, outpatient clinics and parking lots. It will cover 173,000 sq m. The project will create 500 jobs in Moscow. Investment in the project will total almost 14 billion roubles, with an estimated budget of over 487 million roubles per year,” said Vladimir Yefimov, Moscow Deputy Mayor for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations.

The contract on the area redevelopment for the Oktyabrskoye Pole industrial zone was signed at the initiative of the land owner.

35 hectares of modern space

The Korovino industrial zone took a longer route to redevelopment. The private investor that will be responsible for development was first determined in a tender. The winning company won the tender with a bid of 201.2 million roubles. In December 2020, the Moscow Government signed an agreement on the comprehensive redevelopment of part of the Korovino industrial zone in northern Moscow.

By 2035, there will be a new industrial and business centre with up to date infrastructure. Over 35 hectares will be renovated; the overall construction site could reach 600,000 sq m.

“Investment in reorganising the industrial zone is expected to reach about 40 billion roubles, with tax revenues of about 3.8 billion roubles annually. Up to 13,000 new jobs will be created for people in Moscow,” noted Alexander Prokhorov, Head of the Moscow Department of Investment and Industrial Policy.

Another section of the Korovino industrial zone (almost five hectares) may also get a new life as part of the redevelopment of industrial areas. The property lines of the Korovino-2 section will be approved in the rules of land use and development of Moscow, which will allow making a decision on redevelopment in this area.

The total investment in Korovino-2 could reach 5.9 billion roubles. It will be possible to build up to 84,000 sq m of industrial and business facilities there, which will create more than 1,500 new jobs. Annual tax revenues could reach 467 million roubles from this site.

In 2020, it was decided to redevelop four other industrial zones: Bratsevo, Chertanovo, Yuzhnoye Butovo and Altufyevskoye Shosse. There will be industrial, public and business facilities in the area covering almost 60 hectares. Moreover, residential areas, kindergartens, schools and hospitals will also be built in Yuzhnoye Butovo. The planned volume of investment in these projects will reach almost 82 billion roubles. Implementation will begin in the second half of 2021.

More than industrial zones

The mechanism for industrial redevelopment can also be applied to other inefficiently used areas, for example, with abandoned unfinished facilities. The area must comply with the requirements for district redevelopment. In addition, each site is inspected individually, since the decision is made in accordance with the Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation.

Thanks to this, a redevelopment project is already underway on an abandoned construction site, 0.68 hectares on Nikulinskaya Street. For the first time, there are plans to develop a site that is not a former industrial zone. This former construction site has not been in use for over 16 years, so the city’s involvement was necessary. Moscow plans to build almost 20,400 sq m of facilities. The decision to amend the rules of land use was made by the Moscow Urban Planning and Land Commission in November 2020.

The city has enacted various conditions for redevelopment: the area must comply with a series of requirements for city sponsored redevelopment, including unauthorised or dilapidated buildings or misuse of the land. Each site is to be inspected individually, as the decision is made in accordance with the Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation.

In the above case, investors will provide about 1.6 billion roubles, and the budget will receive 175.8 million roubles per year, with 675 new jobs created.

More areas

Recently the city approved a redevelopment project at the former Avtomotornaya industrial zone. Proposals on realigning the property lines of four other areas have been approved. They are located in the industrial zones of Kashirskoye Highway, Yuzhnoye Ochakovo and Kuryanovo.

Public and industrial facilities covering more than 1 million sq m will appear on the five sites. The implementation of these projects will result in almost 37,000 jobs. The expected investments will reach over 240 billion roubles, and the budget will receive about 13 billion roubles annually.

In total, in 2020 the Urban Planning and Land Commission resolved to redevelop 23 areas, including the industrial zones at Krasny Stroitel, Berezhkovskaya Naberezhnaya, Kapotnya, Vykhino, Trikotazhnaya, Perovo, Teply Stan, Kuntsevo, Sviblovo and Verkhniye Kotly. Industrial redevelopment helps the city reorganise unused and abandoned areas. At the same time, site use is strictly regulated.

Today, over 100 areas under this redevelopment programme are planned. More than 37 million sq m of housing, industrial, public and social facilities can be built on this land. These areas will provide about 500,000 new jobs, attract 7 trillion roubles in private investment and almost 3 trillion roubles in budget revenue.

Successful experience

The mechanism for the redevelopment of former industrial zones with investors and property owners is just getting started. However, there are already successful examples of the revival of these territories in Moscow, including landmark projects such as the transformation of the ZIL and Hammer and Sickle industrial zones.

A residential district with parks, schools, an outpatient clinic, a sports cluster and recreation and creative zones is being developed at the former Likhachev Plant site. A unique landscape park, Tyufeleva Roshcha, has opened there. The Anastasia Davydova Olympic Synchronised Swimming Centre, an ice palace, the largest school in Russia, metro and the Moscow Central Circle stations, as well as infrastructure for car owners were built there.

The site of the former Hammer and Sickle steel mill will be designed by LDA Design, an architectural firm in Great Britain known for renovating several industrial zones in Europe, the Olympic Park in London and Central Park in New York. A modern residential complex, a Culture and Music Centre, schools, kindergartens, an outpatient clinic, sports and retail facilities will be built for people living in Moscow. The first phase of Green River Park has already opened there, with an elevated bridge resembling bowls with grapes, an amphitheatre with swinging chairs, a labyrinth in a century-old oak tree and a giant sandbox.