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St. Petersburg’s golden greats21 March 2008 St. Petersburg’s golden greatsAll analysts agree that, first and foremost, location is what makes property "elite". This time, we will tell you about St. Petersburg's top 12 most prestigious neighborhoods of today. As usual, Kamenny O-v gets our top rating. Combining central location, seclusion, a special status, earned historically and confirmed by the President of Russia and Governor of St. Petersburg, greenery and water, Kamenny is head and shoulders above the competition. The Golden Triangle is also hot although it may not be your best bet in terms of creature comfort, combining all the best and the worst of being in the historical heart of the city. Great architecture, breathtaking vistas that attract tourists from all over the world. Lots of shops, restaurants, cafes. Lots of people all the time. For most of them, the Golden Triangle is the "happening" place, a place to hang out, not to live. This is St. Petersburg's showcase and the grounds of all city festivities. Those who live here feel they are ambassadors, not just residents of St. Petersburg. They feel they are constantly "entertaining" myriads of guests. No. 3 in our rating is a cluster of neighborhoods we like to call "Major and Minor Water." Major Water are the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva waterfronts from Robespierre Nab. to Angliyskaya Nab, and the other side of the Neva with Petrovskaya Nab. and Mytninskaya Nab. Minor Water refers to the smaller rivers and canals: the Fontanka, the Moika, Griboedova Canal, Kruikov Canal. Some of the locations are rated higher (e.g. the green Admiralty and Petrovskaya Embankments, and the status-heavy Palace Embankment), others a bit lower (e.g. Robespierre Embankment or the far end of Admiralty Embankment), but property here is extremely valuable nonetheless. Next comes the neighborhood known as "Platinum Rectangle", sited between the Neva and an imaginary straight line from Tavrichesky Park to Letniy Sad, including the area around the Smolny Sobor. This location is preferred by many; although adjacent to the Golden Triangle, it is quieter, greener, and generally better for life. No. 5 is what we call "The Polygon" on Petrogradskaya Storona, stretching from Mytninskaya Nab. to Gorkovskaya Metro with its historic park, taking in Bolshaya and Malaya Posadskaya with access to the Vasilievsky O-v Strelka, and the future Europe Nab. Being in high demand already, these neighborhoods acquire extra appeal as they are transformed by many elite new housing construction projects. 6th place belongs, in advance, to the "Golden Triangle of Federal Projects," encompassing the areas around the new Constitutional Court building, Novaya Gollandia and Mariinsky Teatr. An enchanting part of the city, featuring such marvels as Konnogvardeisky Boulevar, Griboedova Canal at the Italianskoe Konsulstvo and Moika at Novaya Gollandia, this neighborhood is set to develop further, being the target of several major investment projects, all of them federal priorities. Now we have our six winners, but let's look a little further. With the other six runners-up, there's no need for rigid ranking. We'll simply list them. Moskovsky District around Park Pobedy. Why? This area cannot be ignored if only because it was so "hot" in the 1990s, when the real estate market was in its infancy. The district is socially homogenous and very green, with solid infrastructure. Most of the buildings here have a long history. This neighborhood is the city's southern gateway, traversed by the route set aside for government and presidential motorcades. Krestovsky Island is perhaps the most controversial district in the city. Is it elite or not? It's an island, there's water, greenery, existing elite housing and active ongoing construction (also billed "elite"). On the other hand, there's no infrastructure, it's the city's favorite recreation spot that gets crowded in summer, and there are plans to route heavy-duty traffic through the island. All this gives you a lot to think about. We gave Petrovsky Island a "head start" by listing it among our top 12. On the one hand, it's secluded, green, and it's on the water; on the other hand, there's nothing there except for three residential complexes, and there's a great deal of uncertainty as to its future. If the area is developed in a sweeping, well-planned way, we've made the right choice, and Petrovsky stands to become another elite neighborhood. The potential is colossal, but only time will tell. The area where Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt ends at Kamenny Island, encompassing Aptekarsky Island, Lopukhinsky and Vyazemsky Parks, and Pesochnaya Embankment. It's on the water, it's green, and it's full of historical and unusual modern buildings. Our next destination is not far from the northernmost tip of Petrogradsky Island. The interesting, highly sought-after area we are talking about is in the Primorsky, or Maritime District. It's a certain neighborhood near Chernaya Rechka, where the river is contiguous to Kamenny Island, but we don't want to go too deep into it. Once again, the definitive features here are water, greenery, and some interesting projects in the works. One block on Vasilievsky Island, near the Arts Academy and Rumiantsev Garden, bordering on Bolshoi Prospekt (but some analysts extend the neighborhood as far as Sredny Prospekt), also rightfully belongs in our top 12 chart. The neighborhood is soon to become the home of the new Oil Exchange, which is sure to give a new development impetus to the whole area, which has a huge potential already. With an eye on urban development plans, there are a few more new neighborhoods currently shaping up along the Neva, close to the city center. One is Gazprom City, a high-rise complex projected across from the Smolny; the other, Peski, is a historical neighborhood with numbered streets that used to be named Rozhdestvenskie (Christmas), but are now Sovetskie (Soviet) Streets No. 1, 2, 3 and so on. Although planned as business districts, these new developments will necessarily entail new, prestigious residential construction around them. The Okhta Tower project may be controversial in more than one way, and Nevskaya Ratusha may be questionable architecturally, but they are certain to revitalize the whole area. But that's way off in the future. All this goes to show that, from the viewpoint of location, the features that make up high property value and demand are simple and repetitive: proximity to the center, water and trees. Major or Minor Water and green spaces are present in most or all categories. Some of our top 12 neighborhoods are completely green, like Kamenny, Petrovsky or Krestovsky Islands; others are close to inner city parks like Summer Garden, Tavrichesky or others, or at least nestle around tree-lined squares and vistas around Chernaya Rechka. One other important consideration, this time an intangible one, draws a lot of water in the real estate market: it's what City Hall plans to do with the neighborhood. Case study from the past. Many of us will remember how property prices surged in those neighborhoods where the city planned pedestrian streets, and we all know how the social milieu has changed in those neighborhoods since the construction was completed. That's what happens when the elements of a free market meet the urban planning decisions of City Hall. Case study from the present and the future. What will become of Krestovsky Island and its elite property projects? It's all about how the city handles its traffic problems and its social logistics problems, i.e. routing recreation flows away from elite home owners on the island, and keeping the latter insulated from droves of rowdy, obstreperous football fans flowing to the soon-to-be-built new stadium. So, water, trees and historic central location with views of landmark buildings or sites - all this makes real estate elite. |
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