Topping out ceremony for the project Leninskiy Prospekt 119

At the end of 2010, Raiffeisen evolution started the construction work for a hotel and office building on Leninskiy Prospekt 119 in the Russian capital. Recently the topping-out ceremony was held in Moscow.

“We are well on target with the work, and are already carrying out negotiations with a potential investor”, so the explanation of Mag. Markus Neurauter, Managing Director and spokesman of the management of Raiffeisen evolution. The Vienna-based developer with a branch in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg realises a modern and sustainable office building with attached hotel on Leninskiy Prospekt. The office part offers space for over 16,000 sq m of rentable space and impresses with a ground-floor level gallery that extends up to the second floor. “The area is an up-and-coming business quarter, and we construct a sustainable building according to Western Standards here“, so Markus Neurauter. “For this reason, we have designed open spaces that provide a view of green areas and so create an agreeable atmosphere. Not just for the future clients of the hotel.”

The reinforced concrete construction work on the office and the hotel building has been completed. The masonry on the floors +1 to +8 is currently being worked on; the facade work will be completed by the end of September, and directly afterwards fit-out for tenants will be started in order to complete it at the end of 2012 as scheduled. “As already done in Austria and meanwhile in Rumania as well, we want to have this project certified according to the guidelines of the Austrian Sustainable Building Council (ÖGNI) as well“, so Dipl. Ing. Gerald Beck, MRICS.

The paradigm shift from the Green to the Blue Building is about the development away from mere energy efficiency to holistic sustainability. Economy, ecology and also technical performance as well as socio-cultural aspects, the, sparing use of resources and energy play a leading part in this just like the consideration of financial and human needs. “Certified real estate clearly increases the value of a project and is meanwhile more vigorously requested by investors as well”, is how Markus Neurauter explains the decision.

Russia is the current hotspot of the real estate business. Among others, this is demonstrated by a study published recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). “People invest in Russia, even the Chinese show great interest“, adds Neurauter, and continues to elaborate: “For us, the realisation of a sustainable building in Moscow is an investment in the future, and the demand for high-quality space will continue to increase.“