The Moskva river has a big impact on the city that shares its name. Homes with a view of the water have always been in demand. But only one is called The House on the Embankment. The grandest of the city’s Constructivist apartment blocks, the residence on Ulitsa Serafimovicha, was completed in 1931 to house state officials, writers, scientists and other members of the Soviet elite.

The building takes its nickname from the eponymous novel by one of its former residents, Yury Trifonov, who based his book on the denunciations and purges that claimed one third of the adult male inhabitants of the building’s 505 apartments.

Apart from its more tragic residents, those who lived there included Stalin’s son and wife, military Commander-in-Chief Georgy Zhukov and future Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. Today the KGB agents once employed as concierges or elevator workers have long departed. The building still has its theatre, now called Estrada, its cinema and restaurants.

And it is still full of famous inhabitants, including Patriarch Kirill. The price of the flats in the house ranges from $1,500,000 to $1,880,000.

«The house on Serafimovicha is still the most famous house by the water. Most of its flats have beautiful views overlooking the Moskva river and top historical landmarks», said Anna Levitova, managing partner of the Evans real-estate agency.

The river embankment hosts plenty of housing with history. Frunzenskaya or Berezhkovskaya embankments are in demand because of their views. The price of an apartment on the latter starts at $350,000.

«Stalin-era houses on Rostovskaya, Berezhkovskaya, Smolenskaya, Kotelnisheskaya and Frunzenskaya embankments quickly find residents», said Alexander Ziminsky, Director of Elite Real Estate Department at Penny Lane. «Newly-built Moscow city towers overlooking the river and the whole city are also in great demand».

Lofty views

Besides the new Moscow-city area that has both office and residential buildings, there are many other newly-built residences on the Moscow river embankment. The most prestigious and spacious are houses on Savvinskaya and Ozerkovskaya embankments, Aliye Parusa in Strogino and loft-apartments in Yauza Art House.

Recently on Khimkinskoye water reservoir in the north of Moscow, several blocks of flats have been built, including Gorod Yacht (Yacht City) and Pokrovsky Bereg. The latter has its own access to the water and an Anglo-American school in the area.

Some new waterside apartments are located in the very centre: Aquamarine on Ozerkovskaya Embankment, Ostozhenka Park Palace on Khilkov Pereulok, Green Hills on Andreyevskaya Embankment and Barkli Plaza on Prechistenskaya Embankment. Top floors of the Kopernik and Impersky blocks flats also have panoramic views on the water.

«Houses on Yakimanskaya embankment overlook the river and are free of traffic noise, but soon the territory of Zolotoy Ostrov will be reconstructed and a new block of apartments will be built, and the area will become even more prestigious», said Elena Lashko, Development Director of elite real estate agency Usadba.

Pond life

The city has 440 water reservoirs on a total of one thousand hectares, but half of them are located in parks, where residential buildings cannot be built.

«Not all water locations are in a good state and are worthy of development», Ziminsky pointed out. «Investors traditionally appreciate the banks of the Moskva and Yauza rivers, and the Patriarshiye and Chistiye Ponds. At the same time only 5 per cent of the owners of such housing decide to sell it».

Patriarshiye ponds, where scenes of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita novel were set, is another classic waterside location. The price of a furnished apartment in that area is $970,000 and it can be rented for $4,500 a month.

One of the most luxurious apartments on Patriarshiye is a seven-room fully-equipped flat on Yermolayevsky Pereulok with 12 windows overlooking the ponds. The monthly rent is $22,000. «Apartments with a water view are often bought by creative professionals, celebrities and top state officials, and historical buildings on the Moskva river are often rented by expats who want to be surrounded by the key landmarks and have a nice view», said Dmitry Shuvalov, head of the sales department at MIAN real estate agency.

Budget riverbanks

Some remote locations, meanwhile, offer a relative bargain. «Apartments at a lower cost can be found on Ulitsa Svobody, Rechnoy Vokzal, Vodny Stadion and Voikovskaya, but usually a water view lifts an apartment’s price by 10 to 15 per cent», said Levitova of Evans.

Many former industrial zones are still vacant. The Fili district in the west of the city and Nizhniye Mnevniki, which were initially zoned by former mayor Yury Luzhkov for the construction of Russian Disneyland, are still available for investors.

«Real estate with a view on the water does not have to be very expensive», Shuvalov said. «The Yauza embankment is traditionally a bit cheaper and Nagatinskaya embankment, which is further from the city centre, also has economy-class housing».

Yacht clubs

One bonus of living by the water can be the lifestyle it offers, with boat moorings, yacht clubs and waterside restaurants. The most popular waterleisure destinations are located on the Stroginskoye and Khimkinskoye reservoirs.

Aliye Parusa, Gorod Yacht and Pokrovsky Bereg have yacht clubs and beaches on their respective territories. Aliye Parusa also boasts a set of fountains on the embankment and a lighthouse.

Pokrovsky Bereg offers its dwellers the option to rent kayaks and catamarans. There is also a park with rotundas, an open swimming pool with lounges and beach volleyballs nets on the territory. The Royal Beach restaurant, which is located on the beach close to Gorod Yacht, makes the area even more attractive.

Source: The Moscow News