Sochi 2014: Facilities in the Imeretin Valley on the Black Sea

When I first learned of the opportunity to serve as a juror for the Moscow International Financial Centre project, I immediately thought I would have to visit Sochi, the site of the 2014 Olympics.

While I am by no means a sports fanatic, since I lived in Vancouver during the 2010 games, I was very interested in seeing how the Russian facilities and overall set up would compare. I was particularly keen to see how the Russians planned to create their Athletes' Villages!

While I knew it would be best to visit after our January session just before the games began, a quick on-line investigation confirmed my expectation that the good hotels were fully booked. So I decided to go after our first jury session on November 5 and 6.

Knowing just how tight security was around the Vancouver games, I wasn’t sure just how much of the site I would actually get to see. But it didn’t really matter. I thought if I could get a feel for Sochi and the surrounding areas, it would be sufficient.

However, my expectations changed when I got off the plane in Moscow only to discover that Sberbank, the bank behind the IFC project, was also the lead sponsor for the games. Moreover, at our jury session at the Sberbank offices, I learned that one of my fellow judges, Deputy Chairman of the Board Stanislav Kuznetsov was the man overseeing all of the bank's construction activities at Krasnaya Polyana, the mountain resort town where all the skiing events are to take place. (Equivalent to Whistler at the 2010 Games.)

During the first coffee break I mentioned to Mr. Kuznetsov I had planned to go to Sochi after our meetings. He insisted that I contact him when I arrived there so that he could show me around. Little did I know what was in store.

Before my trip to Russia, I had a hard time understanding the layout of Sochi and the Olympics facilities. According to Wikipedia, Sochi, with a population of about 345,000, occupies a very large area. It is considered the longest city in Europe at 145 km from north to south. Bordering on the Black Sea, it has a subtropical climate.

Sochi proper is a very elegant resort with a population of about 140,000 and a long waterfront promenade. However, the new Olympic Park is not in Sochi proper, but rather near Adler, a part of greater Sochi. As a Trustee of The Adler School of Professional Psychology, I knew I had to stay in Adler.www.adler.edu

Sochi and Adler are linked by a very congested road that runs along the waterfront. However, according to Wikipedia, the coming Olympics has resulted in the construction of a medium capacity rapid transit system, the Sochi Light Metro. The current alignment would connect the Sochi Olympic Village, Sochi International Airport, two major railway stations of Northern Caucasus Railway, the downtown of Sochi, and the Alpine skiing area Krasnaya Polyana.

While there were many different hotels and guest houses to choose from in Sochi, Adler and Krasnaya, I determined that the Radisson Blu, the main hotel attached to the Congress Centre near Adler would likely be the best place to stay, especially since it was ranked no 1 of 35 hotels in Adler on TripAdvisor. It ultimately turned out to be an excellent choice.

At the airport in Moscow (NOTE: there are 3 airports in Moscow) I was surprised to see the temperature in Sochi was 20 degrees. The flight took about 2 hours and was quite affordable. My last minute ticket going was $184 Cdn the return was $135. A number of airlines offer service, but they fly from the three different airports. If you are making connections, you should make sure you book from the right airport.

As I prepared to land in Sochi I could see a lot of waterfront hotels and apartments and what definitely looked like Olympic facilities.

My first impressions were not positive. 

While I was happy to see the hotel and Coca~Coal signage, I could not find any information at the airport. The hotel shuttle was not yet in operation and arriving at the hotel I realized I had probably been overcharged by the official taxi service at the airport.(1000 R about $35 for a 7 minute ride).  I was unable to get any maps or Olympic facilities in English and the hotel seemed surrounded by construction activity. 

Wherever I walked I was blocked by security gates and fences. Not wanting to take any chances, I eventually decided to return to my room and enjoy the 22 degree sunny weather and local beverages.

The next morning I was fortunate to meet Thomas Hagemann, General Manager & District Director at Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre. He had moved to Sochi to oversee construction of the hotel and Congress Centre as well as a number of other nearby hotels. When I told him why I was there and the difficulties I'd encountered, he was most gracious and helpful, taking me into the Congress Centre to see a large site model and advising me how to get to the waterfront walkway past all the construction activities.

I spent that day touring around the massive construction site. The scale of activity is unbelievable. Not only have all the facilities been built from scratch, but so has most of the infrastructure. There’s a new airport terminal, train station, new train line and new highway from Adler to the mountains. There’s an extensive new shoreline and walkway and it appears that just about every street in the general area is being rebuilt.

the key sports facilities are located around the main Olym;pic Plaza

The Radisson Hotel on the left and the Olympic Village housing spread along the waterfront

One of the more attractive residential developments that will be used as Athletes housing during the Olympics. While I am not sure of all the details, it is my understanding that some buildings will function as hotels after the Olympics, others will be sold as housing

I was told about this complex, but forgot what it was. It may be a hotel forming part of a family area with amusement parks, etc.

Part of the logistics of the site development is where to house the thousands of workers required to undertake construction

While portions of the walkway are fully completed, others are not and not likely to be finished until well after the games

The Main Stadium has been highly controversial, especially since a decision was made to add a roof

One of many new hotels nearing completion for the games.

One hopes this amusement ride is not yet completed!

This train station within the Olympic Park site is one of a number of major infrastructure projects

While much was made of Russia's highly publicized ban on homosexual athletes, there is a lovely rainbow building on the grounds!

As I walked around, it seemed that far too many workers were just standing around, especially since there were only 90 days till the games began. I was overwhelmed by the scale of the undertaking and worried whether it would all be finished on time. While some facilities appeared finished, most were not.

However my fears were somewhat alleviated the next day when I learned more about how quickly the facilities have been built. Moreover, I learned that what I had seen that day along the Black Sea was just the tip of the iceberg.
 

The Moscow International Financial Centre Competition

You know you’re in Moscow when you look out the window of your gracious old hotel and can see Red Square. Or the next morning, when you round the corner in your Mercedes bus you see…through the mist…the Kremlin.

I was invited to Moscow by the Strelka Institute, a very impressive non-profit organization that organizes national and international competitions in Russia.  http://www.strelka.com/?lang=en They were retained by Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, to organize an international competition to prepare a master plan for a new International Financial Centre in Moscow.

I say new since Moscow already has a financial centre in its downtown, as illustrated in these photos. However, for a number of reasons, the city has decided to create a major new financial centre within what will be a new town on 1000 acres of land, about 18 km from the Kremlin. The town will accommodate 100,000 jobs and a projected population of 33,800 people.

Our first day started with briefing in the board room where we each had our own place. 

This was followed by a tour of the property. Since it is essentially a greenfield site with few roads, we travelled about in Hummers and other 4-wheel vehicles. 

Nearby I could see new high-rises and larger single family houses. I was told that also nearby was another area locally known as billionaire’s row.

The rest of the day was spent in briefings followed by a very nice meal.

The next morning we set off for Sberbank’s head office where the jurying was to take place. Looking out the boardroom windows I got a very different view of Moscow, compared to 2007 when I was last there as a tourist about to take the river cruise to Saint Petersburg!

There were 83 submissions received from 22 countries and our challenge was to narrow this down to 8 teams. Each team would be awarded 200,000 euros to fully develop a comprehensive plan for the property. From these submissions, the jury would be required to further narrow down the list to 3 teams in April 2014. 

I am one of five international jurors. The others are from Germany, France, UK, and Korea. In addition, there are 9 Russian jurors, including the Chairman and CEO of the bank, the Deputy Chairman, the Chief Architect for Moscow, and other highly qualified and influential individuals including Vladimir Putin’s former Chief of Staff.

The room in which we assembled and the overall setup was most impressive. The entire end wall was a giant screen upon which all the submissions were illustrated and discussed. The deliberations were carried out in both Russian and English with simultaneous translation and were very informed. After a very full day, we successfully achieved our goal of selecting 8 teams.

Further details of the project, along with the other members of the jury and the 8 successful teams can be found at www.mfc-city.com.

The day ended with a very elegant dinner in a private hotel dining room, and of course… some vodka.

The jury will next assemble in January when we will meet with each of the teams to discuss their work to date and try to assist them in developing the best possible plans for the property.

As a final comment, when I was first appointed to the jury, many of my colleagues questioned just how influential the international jurors might be. In fact, I was astonished at just how much the other judges appeared to be interested in and guided by our comments and input.

As the only international juror with direct real estate development experience, I tried to emphasize the importance of selecting teams that will not only come up with grand visions for the property, but visions that can ultimately be implemented, rather than remain on a shelf. I know this view was shared by many of the other judges and people involved with the project. Time will tell if we will be successful in this regard.

Canary Wharf and Environs

In preparation for the first jury session to select a short list of teams to plan the Moscow International Financial Centre, I thought it might be worthwhile to spend some time in another International Financial Centre....London's Canary Wharf. I was right!

Although I had visited it briefly, and stopped by on the Thames River boats, I had never stayed there. While I planned to stay at the Four Seasons (Since Canary Wharf was developed by Toronto's Reichman family, it was only proper that there be a Toronto hotelier involved), I was bothered by their somewhat deceptive stay 3 nights but pay for 2 offer, so instead I chose the Radisson Blu, just beside Canary Wharf at Providence Pier.

While not as convenient for touring around Canary Wharf, and in a somewhat obscure location, this waterfront hotel is very different than the Radisson Hotels with which most of us are familiar. The Blu brand is a 5 star chain, as evident in Chicago where the hotel is located in Jeanne Wang's superb 82 storey Aqua building.

While now decades old, Canary Wharf is still growing with developments both on site, and in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Here are just a few snapshots.

The Radisson Blu on right is part of a new mixed use waterfront complex. It can be reached by a 5 minute walk from a couple of Docklands Light Rail stations

While we often think of London as  very walkable city, walking to Canary Wharf from Providence Wharf was somewhat challenging at times

En route, there are some wonderful views across the various quays...

I came across this new development which for some reason reminded me of a Vancouver development

Another view across one of the many quays within Docklands surrounding Canary Wharf

This seemed like an initiative for some Vancouver contractors to consider...

What were they thinking? A bicycle speed bump?

While it's nice to see more colour on apartment buildings, I would be curious to see how these coloured panels of glass impact the quality of light inside the suites

Canary Wharf's success can be attributed in large part to its rail connections to the rest of the city, including the Jubilee Line which runs right into the middle of the development and even some buildings

Cars entering Canary Wharf often have to go through security gates established around the site. Yes, that striped thing goes down once the motorist has been cleared

I no sooner took my photo and security approached me!

"You can't take photos here" he told me. While I hesitated to tell him I was doing this for Moscow, we did have a good chat.

There are a lot of very impressive spaces both inside and outside the buildings. However, I agree with the consensus that the scale is often a bit inhumane...especially when the wind blows through the exterior streets

There is much to like about Canary Wharf, including the transit connections. But under all these plazas are where people really gather, with two or three levels of retail shopping. Yes there's even a small Marks & Spencers underneath.

A well known piece of public art by one of Germany's more creative people. Look at the clocks carefully!

Most people will probably like this piece better!

I was surprised to discover a skating rink within the development...

Which looked quite good at night.

I decided to leave by boat, from the dock just below the Four Seasons Hotel

Looking back as the boat pulls away at the Canary Wharf towers and the surrounding residential buildings.  If we were doing it today, we would better integrate the commercial and residential spaces...

To see more developments along the Thames, you might want to take a look at this previous post. http://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.ru/2012/07/blog-post_889.html