The shortage of land for building, especially in the central regions, is a common misfortune of large cities with a long history. In Moscow, this problem was solved thanks to the liberalization of construction legislation, which allowed to replace a significant part of the historical buildings with new ones.
However, for St. Petersburg with an abundance of architectural and cultural monuments in it, this way of freeing up space for construction is clearly not suitable. Fortunately, a solution was found: a radical modernization of existing facilities. Thereby It is represented not only by new buildings, but also by historical buildings and even ancient palace houses, which are subject to total reconstruction in accordance with modern comfort requirements.
The essence of modernization is reduced to the radical transformation of buildings from the inside, in which their historical appearance remains the same. Quite often, authentic buildings and interior design are recreated in such buildings. Old wooden floors and utilities must be completely replaced. Often additional add-ons and spaces for swimming pools and solariums, restaurants and bars, art galleries, etc. are created. As a result of this painstaking work, the investor gets a building with a unique history, prestigious location and comfortable, often panoramic apartments, completely ready to move in. The value of assets increases significantly. The only problem is the lack of space for parking, because the construction of underground parking in the center is often impossible.
Experts say that elite real estate in St. Petersburg on the basis of existing old buildings will not be inferior in terms of durability, security and level of infrastructure development to the most modern new buildings of its category. This is important, because the demand for historic palace houses, apartment buildings, mansions and villas is very high. High ceilings, unique interiors and exteriors of buildings, as well as a sense of ownership in the history of the city, do their job.
How effective the reconstruction work can be assessed by the example of the Baur mansion (corner of the embankments Fontanka and Neva), apartment building on the street. Zakharyevskoy, 41. St. Petersburg developers also have projects to create entire housing complexes, which, along with new buildings, will include reconstructed old buildings. One of these eclectic residential complexes is planned to be created on Smolny Prospekt. The ancient barracks of the Field of Mars and the buildings of the stable department located on Konyushennaya Square promise to become one of the most expensive objects - they predict that they will be able to compete not only with Russian, but also with world-class prestigious apart-hotels.