Available real estate in Moscow can be very diverse — anything from modern "elite" buildings to Stalin-era skyscrapers, and from khrushchyovkas to veritable 19th century mansions.

Moscow’s 19th century real estate is interesting in particular — some buildings can be very pricey, others are virtually abandoned today. Having suffered in recent years, historic real estate in Moscow is now at a crossroads.

From ashes to progress

The famous 1812 fire in Moscow, started as a means of preventing Napoleon from fully taking over the city, destroyed three quarters of the buildings in the capital. The centre of Moscow as we know it today was almost wiped out completely. According to historian Ivan Katayev, over 6,000 wooden and brick buildings were ruined in the fire — a devastating figure.

In 1813, after the war with Napoleon ended, Tsar Alexander I began the reconstruction of Moscow. Alexander established a "Moscow Building Commission" and famous architects, including Osip Boye, Domenico Gilardi and Afanasy Grigoriyev, created the first general construction plan for the city in 1817.

The fire helped change the city — the streets became wider, and the the famous Garden Ring Road that would wind up framing the city centre was finally laid out. As the result of the fire, wooden buildings swiftly went out of fashion, meanwhile, and new styles of architecture were able to take over.

Surviving the Soviets

Both Muscovites and newcomers to the city invest more in modern and Stalin-era buildings than they do in 19th century real estate — but there is nevertheless a market for this particular kind of architecture.

There are dozens of streets in Moscow lined with 19th century buildings, among them are Ulitsa Pokrovka, Ulitsa Pyatnitskaya, Bolotnaya Ploshchad, Ulitsa Maroseika, Ulitsa Bolshaya Polyanka Posledny Pereulok, Spiridonyevsky Pereulok and many others.

According to Anna Levitova, managing partner at Evans Property, there are very few 19th century buildings that still bear their original look and are available for rent or sale, however. Some of them were heavily reconstructed during the Soviet era and have therefore lost their original appearance.

"Such real estate is almost gone. The buildings that survived the Soviet era were either given over to embassies or made into office buildings — or they were taken over by restaurants," Levitova said.

Alexander Ziminsky, head of the elite property department at Penny Lane Realty, pointed out that the authentic look of a 19th century building may not necessarily lend it as much value as reconstruction does. "Many historic buildings were reconstructed or restored,” he said. “Today they are legitimately considered to be a part of the elite property market."

Historic value

The remaining pieces of 19th century architecture all have a story to tell — especially considering the many people who have lived in them throughout the years. It is for those stories that many residents choose to move into them.

According to Levitova, Evans has a two-room apartment in a pre-revolutionary mansion located on Spiridonievsky pereulok and on sale for the price of $1,15 million. "This mansion has significant historical value," Levitova said. "For instance, this is the first Moscow address of poet Vladimir Mayakovsky."

Revolutionaries also occupied this building in 1860. "Members of a revolutionary underground group lead by Nikolai Ishutin lived there," Levitova said.

Today’s prices

Experts say that prices for apartments in the 19th century buildings depend on many factors including location, design and how well or not well the building has been maintained.

According to Anna Levitova of Evans Property, the cost of apartments in those 19th century houses that have not been reconstructed is low, because there is a constant fear that such buildings will be demolished – and maintaining them can get quite expensive.

"If the house has been completely renovated and the floors replaced, then these buildings are valued at the price of modern real estate," Levitova said, adding that if a developer can manage to put a garage under such a building, the value of the apartments there can go up.

"The average price of a square metre in a reconstructed building is $15,000 (432,000 roubles)," said Alexander Ziminsky of Penny Lane Realty. "However, even in a reconstructed historic building, the apartments will not be the most expensive things on offer on the capital’s real estate market."

"Many legitimate demands that buyers have when it comes to elite real estate cannot be met when it comes to historic buildings – you can’t widen or fence off the territory next to the building, you can’t increase the commons areas, you can’t install modern, noiseless elevators, and you run into major challenges when trying to build an underground parking lot."

Lost in the rubble?

One of the other major problems with 19th century real estate has to do with a trend that started under former Mayor Yury Luzhkov – many historic buildings of that period were destroyed. Luzhkov’s desire to build more modern housing and office buildings in central Moscow in particular was a double-edged sword in that it allowed developers to have an extremely careless attitude towards the historic value of particular buildings.

According to Nataliya Chernyaeva, executive secretary of ArkhNadzor, a non-commercial organisation aimed at preserving remaining historic buildings in Moscow, many residential buildings built in the 19th century stand empty or are occupied by poor migrant workers, and the conditions inside are often terrible.

"The biggest problem is that such buildings are not looked after by the authorities in any way," Chernyayeva said.

It remains to be seen whether or not the lot of 19th century buildings in the capital will improve under thenew mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.

Saving history, one building at a time

The historic heart of Moscow, which includes most of the centrally located neighbourhoods, is in danger even after former Mayor Luzhkov left office in September 2010.

Natalia Chernyayeva, managing secretary for ArkhNazdor, an organisation that is fighting to save buildings of historical and cultural value in Moscow and across Russia, told The Moscow News that there are very few 19th century residential buildings left in the capital.

According to Chernyayeva, the question of the preservation of the historical buildings, especially the residential ones, is of great importance. Alas, the authorities have not shown much interest in this matter yet.

Chernyayeva pointed out that "in Paris there are 14-15th century residential buildings in good condition – because the authorities look after them or help the residents to do likewise, while in Moscow there are few laws that can help manage the problem."

ArkhNadzor has been trying to persuade City Hall to reduce taxes as well as change statutes so that current owners of historic buildings can do more to preserve them for future generations.

"There are, of course, other methods – like the establishment of an owners’ union that could help keep a building in a good state," she said, adding that very few owners do this now for "lack of specific laws and huge property taxes."

ArkhNadzor has been working with new officials since Mayor Sergei Sobyanin took office late last year, and the activists say they are looking forward to establishing some kind of understanding between the authorities and ordinary residents on the matter.

Source: The Moscow News