In Irkutsk at the round table Urban Environment. Reboot, two city unique projects were discussed, development of built up areas and a green corridor for investors, which have already interested federal experts and the Ministry of Culture of Russia. The talk was about mechanisms for attracting private investment to resettle dilapidated and unsafe housing, preserve cultural heritage sites and renew the urban environment. Participants also shared their first practical experience in implementing these initiatives and noted that such meetings help find solutions to the most urgent urban planning tasks.
At the round table “Urban Environment. Reboot,” held the previous Friday, issues of urban environment development were discussed. The event was attended by representatives of the structural divisions of the Irkutsk city administration, representatives of the architectural community and the Public Chamber of the city of Irkutsk, public organizations, and federal experts: Valery Prokhorov, head of the regional programs department of the Institute of Public Design (Moscow).Alexey Shchukin, editor of the magazine “Expert-Real Estate,” as well as the Mayor of Irkutsk, Viktor Kondrashov.
The main topic of the meeting between Mayor Viktor Kondrashov, representatives of the Public Chamber of the city, architects, and federal experts was two projects unique to the city of Irkutsk. These were projects for the development of built-up areas and the so-called “green corridor for investors,” which is overseen by the Irkutsk Monument Development Agency (ARPI). The innovation of these unique projects lies in the fact that Irkutsk residents have developed mechanisms for effectively attracting private investment to address urban environment development issues. Later, the Ministry of Culture of the country became interested in this experience of our specialists. At the opening of the round table, Mayor Viktor Kondrashov reminded those present that the city development plan developed by Irkutsk architects had advanced to the semifinals of the all-Russian competition “Best City Strategy.” Viktor Kondrashov noted that one of the main current priorities for the development of Irkutsk is the resettlement of residents from dilapidated and unsafe housing, followed by the preservation of the city’s cultural heritage sites.
According to the city’s chief architect, Inna Kondratyeva, the city planning policy committee of the Irkutsk city administration has currently prepared only 43 sites in Irkutsk. This unique project will make it possible to build modern, well-appointed homes on their territory. The essence of such a project is that the investor, at their own expense, resettles residents from dilapidated and unsafe housing and builds new modern residential complexes in their place. On a competitive basis, 4 agreements for the development of built-up areas have already been signed; moreover, 3 more sites will be offered to investors for development this year. Other presentations by guests of Irkutsk were also quite interesting during the round table, and reports by guests of Irkutsk were heard. Vitaly Stadnikov (adviser to the Mayor of Samara on urban planning, former chief architect of Samara) spoke about the city’s experience in restoring a block of wooden buildings. Alexey Shchukin (special correspondent for the magazine “Expert,” editor of the supplement “Expert-Real Estate”) spoke about six trends in Russian urban planning today.
In total, 32 dilapidated and unsafe cultural heritage sites were transferred to the ARPI agency (the Irkutsk Monument Development Agency). As a result of the competition held, 12 agreements were signed with investors who are investing in the restoration of monuments. ARPI is reconstructing three mansions with its own funds. Seven sites have been prepared for auction. The agency is now working on obtaining the necessary permits, organizing and supervising contractors, and commissioning the facility; after that, the agency transfers the restored property to the investor. The first of them, the Zharnikov Mansion located at 34 Gorky Street, is already nearing completion of restoration work there.
“Irkutsk is now entering a new stage in the development of its urban environment,” Mayor Viktor Kondrashov notes. – “The lack of free land plots for construction in the city forces us to look for new mechanisms that would make it possible to redevelop existing residential areas. Irkutsk was one of the first cities in the country to find effective mechanisms for attracting off-budget funds to address these issues. Irkutsk’s experience has been recognized at the federal level: ARPI’s developments have been taken by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation as the basis for the concept of the ‘green corridor for investors.’
Also at the round table, its participants discussed the first practical experience of implementing Irkutsk projects, noted the difficulties and shortcomings they had to face, and expressed their wishes regarding the projects. Everyone agreed that such meetings between professional communities and city authorities are necessary, since they discuss pressing problems and ways to solve them, promising innovations in the field of architecture and urban planning, as well as ways to implement such important projects.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk city administration.