Baltic Pearl Construction Pushes Forward
Published: November 30, 2011 (Issue # 1685)
DUDERHOF CLUB
A bird’s-eye view of the Duderhof Club residential complex project, part of the Baltic Pearl multi-functional complex.
An inauguration ceremony dedicated to the opening and sale of the premium-class residential property Duderhof Club, part of the Baltic Pearl multi-functional complex, was held in St. Petersburg last week.
“Duderhof Club is the third residential and first premium-class structure in the Baltic Pearl project,” said Lee Bo, first deputy director general of Baltic Pearl company.
“The construction of the first building, Pearl Premiere, was completed last year and 97 percent of the apartments have already been rented and are currently being lived in. Pearl Symphony, the second building whose construction is planned to be finished next year, has already sold 30 percent of its apartments.
“Duderhof Club will only enhance the market prospects of the Baltic Pearl project,” he added.
The construction of residential areas in the Duderhof Club is to be conducted in two stages. Within the first stage, which will be completed in the third quarter of 2013, the building of nine low-rise sections of 98 apartments and four townhouses will be completed. The second stage of construction is planned to start next year. The total area of the Duderhof Club residential premises will be 63,000 square meters.
According to Baltic Pearl executives, the Duderhof Club will be built in a Scandinavian style and with the use of high technology and innovative building materials.
Baltic Pearl company, the creator of the project, is an affiliate of Shanghai Overseas United Investment Company.
As a result of a tender to find a contractor for the project in which Russian companies also participated, Shanghai Construction Group — a state-owned company — was named the main contractor.
According to Sergei Dobrodeyev, assistant director general of Baltic Pearl, the company was looking for a contractor with the ability to take complete control of construction and the JIT (Just in Time) building material supply process in which no storage room is needed for the materials, as they are used and new ones brought as and when they are needed.
The general planner of the Duderhof Club is the St. Petersburg-based firm Tsytsin Architectural Studio.
Cooperation with Sberbank on loan financing for the project is also planned to continue.
“In 2010, the amount of loans was some 300 million rubles ($9.6 million), this year the amount exceeded this sum,” said Sergei Shamkov, director of the Krasnoselsky district division of Sberbank Northwest.
“One of the main competitive advantages of Duderhof Club is the reasonable price for premium class real estate,” said Lee.
“The prices are some 110,000 rubles ($3,500) for a square meter in apartments and 90,000 ($2,880) in townhouses,” said Dobrodeyev. “We haven’t calculated the payback period precisely yet, but we hope it will be about five years,” he added.
“The economic crisis didn’t influence the implementation of the project because the budget to fund the project was planned in advance,” said Dobrodeyev. “The primary requirement for the project investor was the ability to maintain a balanced budget and monitor it.”
“The essential amount of investment for the first stage of construction has been completely arranged,” Lee added.
Baltic Pearl is a multi-functional complex of residential, commercial and public areas located on the southwestern shore of the Gulf of Finland, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.
The Pearl Plaza trade and entertainment complex is planned to open as part of the Baltic Pearl in 2013.
Schools and kindergartens built on Baltic Pearl territory will become city property. The first kindergarten was opened on the Baltic Pearl territory in 2010. The area is planned to contain all of the necessary facilities for various levels of society and to significantly improve the infrastructure of the district.