Articles by Anton Filatov



Legislators Moving to Rossiya Site

A parliamentary center will be built on the site near the Kremlin where the Rossiya Hotel once stood.

Developer to Spend $500M on Suburban Housing

Morton Group will invest $500 million in new housing in towns outside Moscow, its CEO has said. The developer selected the towns of Vidnoye and Balashikha, and the residential projects will be financed with company cash as well as borrowed funds.

City Hall Cancels High-Rise Projects

A decision was made at the last session of the City’s building commission to terminate eight construction projects, a source in the mayor's office told Vedomosti.

Qatari Firm, Gazprombank Plan $150M Real Estate Fund

Qatari Barwa Real Estate and Gazprombank announced the formation of a real estate fund, which will invest in housing and commercial real estate development projects in Moscow and other regions, with contributions of $75 million each.

Hotel Room Prices Fall 8%

The average room rate in Moscow’s world-class hotels decreased by 8 percent to 6,596 rubles ($215) in 2010 because of increased competition and ruble fluctuation, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

Pushkin Square Spared Construction

City Hall issued an order late last week to stop the construction work under Pushkin Square, and if the investor in the project wants to continue, it will have to reduce the size of the commercial space or eliminate it altogether.

City Duma Seeks to Buy 3rd Building

To make room for 10 new deputies, the Moscow City Duma is looking to purchase a third building — possibly the nearby Marine House business center, which could cost $50 million.

Gruzdev Family Exiting Sedmoi Kontinent

State Duma Deputy Vladimir Gruzdev's family foundation will sell its share of food retailer Sedmoi Kontinent to entrepreneur Alexander Zanadvorov, booking a profit on the investment and freeing up funds to build affordable housing in the Moscow region.

German Fund Won't Buy Vivaldi Plaza

One of the largest deals on the Russian commercial real estate market has fallen through as German investment fund KanAm will not purchase the Vivaldi Plaza multifunctional complex located alongside Paveletsky Station.

Deripaska May Swap Stakes to Keep Austrian Interest

Oleg Deripaska does not want to lose his stake in Austrian construction firm Strabag ― so he is willing to trade in his Russian assets, such as Transstroi and Glavmosstroi.

PIK to Sell $500M in Shares to Pay Debts

PIK Group is planning on selling up to $500 million in shares to pay off debts, the company's board of directors decided Friday.

Mining Magnate Behind 2 Building Projects

An unexpected investor turned out to be behind the demolished Hotel Rossiya next to the Kremlin, as well as the unfinished Russia Tower in Moskva-City — Viktor Rashnikov, owner of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works.

New Cherkizon May Appear in Moscow Region

A replacement for the shuttered Cherkizovsky Market may appear in the Moscow region, as plans are made for a $600 million, multipurpose wholesale center — possibly the biggest in Russia.

'Technopolis' Gets Another $3.5Bln

The 4 billion rubles originally earmarked for the so-called innovation city in Skolkovo was just the beginning. Another 110.5 billion rubles ($3.5 billion) has been set aside for the project.

City Plan Called a 'Death Sentence' for Moscow

Under the GenPlan, more than 100 million square meters of housing will be built in Moscow over the next 15 years. The Public Chamber has called the urban planning document a "death sentence" for the city, but Mayor Luzhkov has signed it.

Court Nixes Auctions for Moscow Region Land

The tenants of Moscow region land along Rublyovskoye Shosse who rented the land two years ago for kopeks may lose their rights to it, but no one is making any claims on Roman Abramovich's land.

Glavstroi Settles $200M Debt With Soyuz

The construction company is giving the bank 34.5 hectares of land near Borovskoye Shosse, where it had planned to build 460,000 square meters of housing.

McDonald's Keeps 1 Ruble Rental Rate

The Moscow Region's Federal Arbitration Court repealed two lower-level court decisions in favor of the city's property department against Moskva-Makdonalds, one of the chain's franchisees.

Ismailov to Build Hotels For Sochi Olympics

Telman Ismailov, founder of the now-liquidated Cherkizovsky market who drew criticism for building a $1 billion five-star hotel in Turkey, will build almost 10 percent of the hotel space needed for the Olympics in Sochi.

AEON Owner on Mirax's Board

Mikhail Dvorkovich, an adviser to Mirax chairman Sergei Polonsky, said AEON owner Roman Trotsenko had been on the board as an independent director for more than a year, adding that he was invited as one of the market's top anti-crisis managers.

Mirax Group Debt at $550M

Of the total, $193 million is to banks, including $40 million that is overdue, and the company also owes 1.8 billion rubles in bonds, or roughly $60 million (of which $31 million is overdue), and $236 million in notes (of which $6 million is overdue), the sources said.

Aluminum Magnate Turns to Property Development

Lev Chernoi has turned to property development, with an investment in a 380 million euro ($522 million) apartment and hotel complex to be built on the site of the Mir hotel on Novy Arbat.

Moscow Cheaper Than Istanbul

Moscow fell from fourth to eighth position in Europe in terms of the cost of hotel stays, said hotel consultancy HVS.

'Fantastic' Plan to Save Rechnik

A legal method has already been found to save the houses in Rechnik that are on federally owned land, Vedomosti has learned.

As Property Market Recovers, Banks Begin Lending Again

Both VTB and Sberbank are ready to start lending to developers this year, particularly those constructing residential housing, and VTB alone is planning to offer builders as much as $1.2 billion in 2010.

AFI Development Exchanges GDRs for Shares

AFI Development is considering the possibility of a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, the company said in a statement.

Nafta-Moskva Acquires Stake in Moskva Hotel Builder

A City Hall source confirmed that talks had been held on Nafta-Moskva's acquisition of the company building the Moskva hotel from a city-owned firm, but he was unaware of a deal being reached.

Tashir to Build Housing Next Door to Gazprom

MSM-Invest is building the housing complex on a 7.8-hectare plot near the Gazprom office, at the intersection of Ulitsa Nametkina and Khersonskaya Ulitsa.

Promsvyazbank to Get Expo Center

The bank will get the future home of an Audi dealership as part of a restructuring.

Kerimov Consolidates 45% PIK Stake

The developer’s founders are left with a combined 33 percent stake after the billionaire acquired shares through debt.


Today's Paper