Five international teams for Farini and San Cristoforo. Works are about to start on Milan’s old rail yards

22 December, Corriere della Sera

Five international teams have been selected out of fifty candidates to design the requalification project of the former Farini and San Cristoforo rail yards. One group is headed by the Italian studio Baukuh, a very young (everybody is below 40 years of age) and innovative team, known for the project of the House of Memory. There is the Dutch Oma of Rem Koolhaas (famous in Milan for the Prada Foundation), and Arup Italia together with the Norwegian Snohetta, the creators of the “new” Times Square and of the Library of Alexandria. There is also the internationally-known team of Kengo Kuma from Japan, as well as that of Nicholas Grimshaw, one of the leading exponents of contemporary British architecture.

The teams are transversally and internationally organised. They will have to combine several skills: from landscaping to business and urban planning. They will compete to access the bid launched by Fs Sistemi Urbani and led by Carlo De Vito and Coima Sgr with Manfredi Catella. The five teams will work on the masterplan. In April, a panel headed by Dominique Perrault (the architect that signed the Olympic district in Paris) and supervised by Leopoldo Freyrie will nominate the winner which will be awarded 50 thousand euro, besides a reimbursement of 25 thousand granted to all the participants. At that point, the masterplan will be evaluated by the public and the structure of the plan will be ready by the summer.

The masterplan will be presented to the market to find partners, sponsors and developers. The works will start in 2021, but the area will accommodate the Fine Arts campus, also known as Brera 2, starting already from next year. The Academy will be temporarily located in a warehouse occupying an area of 25 thousand Sq m. It will accommodate lecture halls for 1,500 students and an exposition area. The team implementing the masterplan, however, will have to include other 10 thousand Sq m for its expansion.

The call for tenders concerns two portions of Farini (one public and the other private, facing on Valtellina) as well as the San Cristoforo. This latter will become an “urban oasis”, as it will be entirely occupied by green spaces, while 65% of Farini (600 thousand Sq m in total) will be covered by parks. About 400 thousand Sq m of buildable area will be destined to housing, including rents at regulated prices destined to people under 35 years. There will also be a district occupied by public offices for a total of 70 thousand Sq m expandable to 110 thousand Sq m to accommodate 6,500 employees. The district will rise in an area propriety of the City of Milan in Via Cenisio right beside the tracks. The project is valued 200 million euro, and it’s meant to gather all the local offices. The small area owned by Coima Sgr (60 thousand Sq m towards Via Valtellina) might see the arrival of Istituto Marangoni, Naba and Domus Academy.

The seven rail yards cover a total area of one million and 250 thousand Sq m in a strategic position. Besides Farini, there is Greco (the project and the winner will be disclosed on February) and Porta Romana. For this latter, the bid will be published in the second half of the year, and it might host the Olympic village in case Milan wins the 2026 Olympic games. Finally, Porta Genova will host temporary activities.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Works have started in Farini in Milan

08 December, Avvenire

Vacant spaces for one million and 250 thousand Sq m in total, often in strategic areas in the city, seven locations to requalify. This is the ambitious plan of the City of Milan, the Region of Lombardy and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane together with Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Ferrovie Italiane, plus the collaboration of other partners. The project started moving the first steps in the former Farini train station. The works will then proceed in the other six stations. The project focuses on eco-sustainability and energy efficiency with the goal of making all the locations car-free.

Source: Avvenire

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Milan: “Pirellino” for auction to fund the construction of a new office hub

25 October, Corriere della Sera

“Pirellino”, the former headquarters of the city’s urban planning department located in Via Pirelli 39, will be put for auction to implement the project of a “federal building”, a high building gathering all the City’s departments. The City administration is meant to put it for auction next year at a starting price of 80 million euro. It won’t be the only building to be sold unless the negotiation worth 200 million with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti won’t find a resolution. The negotiation concerns the sale in bulk of about a dozen public buildings. The portfolio also includes the prestigious building in Piazza Scala accommodating the city’s accounting office and the welfare offices in Largo Treves.

The office district (70 thousand Sq m and extendible for other 110 thousand) will accommodate 6,500 employees, cutting management costs by 60%. Urban Planning City Councillor Pierfrancesco Maran clarified that “the project won’t start the implementation under this administration. That will happen in the near future”. The goal now is to lay the foundations, namely raising the necessary funds. And finding the right place, a 40 thousand Sq m site already owned by the City in Via Cenisio (which may be extended to the area in Via Messina), a few minutes from the lilac metro line and the former Farini train station.

Regarding this latter, an international call for bids has been launched for the masterplan by Fs Sistemi Urbani, a Ferrovie Italiane subsidiary, together with Coima Sgr. The masterplan will be selected in April, and it’s aimed at defining the development of the biggest of the seven stations, along with the smaller San Cristoforo, which is meant to become an “urban oasis”. Farini develops over an area of 600 thousand Sq m along Via Farini. The key points of the project are: half of the surface will be converted into a park, apartments for rent dedicated to the under-35 population, a train circle line running around “Brera 2”, a branch of the Academy of Fine Arts to be inaugurated by the start of the 2019 academic year. The winner of the “Farini project” will undergo the public evaluation before proceeding with the implementation.

Carlo De Vito, Fs Sistemi Urbani president, “This a fundamental milestone of an innovative project.it will be an example for other urban requalification projects”. Coima Ceo Manfredi Catella agrees: “The old train station can become a strategic project to create in Milan a laboratory where to experiment globally with sustainability and innovation”. The goal is to start the works in 2021. Maran reminds that “in the meantime, the recovery of the stations is going on. At the beginning of 2019, there will be the call for bids for Romana, the project for Greco will be launched, while Porta Genova will accommodate the temporary activities”.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Scalo Farini in Milan: masterplan approved. The works will start in 2021

24 September, Corriere della Sera

The masterplan for the former Farini train station has been approved. The landscape committee of the City of Milan gave the green light last Thursday. The offices of the City will return to Ferrovie dello Stato the document reviewed and corrected. The review was essential to comply with the commitment to start the works by 2021, that is the end of the mandate of the Sala administration. The plan for the biggest of the seven old train stations proceeds. In October Ferrovie dello Stato will publish the call for tenders for the definitive version of the document containing the guidelines for the requalification of over 400 thousand Sq m, although with some months of delay from the initial schedule. The plan includes where, in the maxi-area between Porta Nuova and the old town, the big park will be implemented, covering 65% of the surface, where to place the facilities and the buildings, and where a separate location of the Brera Academy will raise, etc.

The call for tenders for the masterplan won’t be a selection of invitations. It will be divided into two phases: the first open to all the architecture studios, and the second accessible only by a selected number of participants. It will take about six months to find the winning project. As the Councillor for urban planning Pierfrancesco Maran stressed, “for the first time, a public procedure will be shared with the citizens, according to the new construction regulation, in order to gather their comments”. The goal is to start the works within three years on the 60-thousand-Sq m surface in via Valtellina (currently occupied by the Land Registry offices and recently acquired by Coima Sgr), as well as in the rest of the large surface of the old train station owned by Ferrovie dello Stato. The first station to be requalified will be Greco, 60-thousand-Sq m for sale on the northern part of the city. The station was included in the international urban regeneration call for tenders «Reinventing cities» which will get at the last phase by the end of the month to choose a winner and consequently the developer.

On the topic of big changes, the City of Milan has just disclosed the final report on the public discussion regarding the reopening of Navigli which includes ideas born for the inputs coming from the citizens: more green spaces, a cycling lane in Via San Marco, additional pedestrian walks in Via Melchiorre Gioia.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Coima Sgr starts developments in Porta Nuova investing 700 million in total

25 July, Il Sole 24 Ore

Coima Sgr, the asset management company managing real estate investment funds on behalf of Italian and international institutional investors, has finalised the purchase of two public areas in Porta Nuova, Milan, and the corresponding construction permits from the Municipality of Milan for a total surface of 32,208 Sq m and an investment amounting to 78.9 million euro.

As the memo reads, the company plans to complete the development of two new-generation buildings by 2022, with a total investment of over 270 million euro. If we also include the requalification projects in Via Bonnet (in the former Unilever headquarters) and in di Via Melchiorre Gioia 22 (formerly Inps offices), Coima has launched urban regeneration projects in Porta Nuova for a total value of 700 million.

The acquisition of rights was carried out through a vehicle company 60% owned by the fund Coima Opportunity Fund II and 40% by a primary international institutional fund in the role of co-investor. The fund CofII, which has recently completed to raise funds for over 650 million euro including co-investments, is the biggest discretionary fund dedicated to investments in Italy, with an investment capacity of over 1.5 billion euro including the financial leverage.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Manfredi Catella: “The appeal of Milan is clear. Now we have to be the first to experiment”

25 July, La Repubblica

He made the first move for the biggest and most strategic station in Milan. After Porta Nuova, Via Gioia and an operation near Fondazione Feltrinelli, Manfredi Catella acquired from the fund Olimpia Investment the first piece of the Farini train station for 69.5 million: 60 thousand Sq m in Via Valtellina that will be occupied by the Land Registry Office until 2022 and will ignite the transformation process of the former train station. From here, the manager looks at 2030, for Farini, he believes, “could become the pilot project for the creation of the city of the future”.

Will Farini become the next Porta Nuova? What will you do with the area that you just bought?

Yesterday we started a workshop on urban regeneration calling experts from Italy and from abroad, from Amsterdam to California, from London to Washington, to think about the neighbourhood of the future regarding public spaces, energy, transportation, etc. Right now, Milan is the city in Europe with the most developable areas, centrally located too. The city offers more opportunities for innovation compared to other cities which may have started sooner, but now don’t have the same chances to experiment.

Will you expand to other spaces in Farini or the other stations?

Urban development is our primary job. It can be stations, disused or industrial areas, we look at the city on the overall and not only that.

Could the stations attract foreign investors?

It depends on the type of investor. Those who can wait to see the returns in the long term will find an opportunity in the city, or in Italy.

How strong is the interest in Milan right now?

There is definitely interest in Milan. Certainly, the country suffers from the macroeconomic and political uncertainty. For this reason, it’s essential that Italy and each city express reliability, favouring solid long-term projects.

Do you fear, as some analysts do, the stop of the investments due to the uncertainties connected to the new Government?

I hope that the government will demonstrate reliability and competence so that analysts will stop worrying and investors will continue investing in Italy. I believe that if cities work as Milan is doing, they’ll be able to attract capitals. Also, let me add one thing.

Go ahead.

The foreign capitals are here, this has been already ascertained, but it’s easier now for them to leave, considering the less favourable economic cycle. Perhaps, this is the moment for Italian investors to return betting on the country to innovate and to create new jobs. It’s what is happening in other countries in Europe such as France and Germany, for instance.

However, the arrival of Apple and the opening of a Starbucks shop in September are seen as the confirmation of the interest of international players in Milan. Is that true?

There is interest in Milan, for sure, as it’s the city that managed to stand out the most. The arrival of Apple and Starbucks, however, is the confirmation of another thing, in my opinion. It’s that Milan has now become a tourist destination. For this reason, it has entered the global network of the international brands.

After Expo, it seems like also something else has changed.

I’ve always been very positive by nature. But I would like to shift the attention. At this point, the appeal of Milan abroad is certain. The focus for me now is on how the city may become a blank page where to experiment more than in other cities. Perhaps, all we have to do is to be brave and say: we’re in a higher league now, let’s play this match till the end. Moreover, exporting in Italy the model of collaboration between private and public sector has worked well here.

Starting from Farini, will the neighbourhoods of the future Milan feature skyscrapers?

I’ve never been a lover of skyscrapers as such. They’re one of the many ways to shape a city. But if I have to be honest, nowadays substance is more important than form. I think that the new cultural symbol is the High Line in New York, which residents along with tourists can experience and share.

Source: La Repubblica

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Coima acquired the Valtellina area in the former Farini station in Milan

25 July, Il Sole 24 Ore

Coima Sgr purchased from the fund Olimpia Investment managed by Savills Im Sgr the Valtellina area, a strategic region in the old Farini train station and close to Porta Nuova. The area is included in the requalification project of seven disused train stations promoted by the City of Milan and the Italian Railways.

The transaction was carried out through the new dedicate fund Coima Mistral, as disclosed by the company. The area has a surface of 60 thousand Sq m, and it’s beside Via Valtellina, close to the metro line and the Porta Garibaldi train station. The Land Registry Office is the only tenant with a lease contract till December 2022 along with spaces occupied by the Finance Police and the Customs Authority.

As the memo reads, “The regeneration of Farini is the natural continuation of the Porta Nuova project which was co-developed and now managed by Coima. In the last five years, 18% of the office rentals in Milan has concentrated in this area”.

The City of Milan, the Region of Lombardy, the Italian railways and Savills approved on 3rd August 2017 the Program Agreement which includes the guidelines for the urban redevelopment of Farini, implying the creation of green areas for a large part of the surface and 37,900 Sq m dedicated to co-living and student housing.

“Coima will continue its collaboration with the City of Milan and the Italian railways concerning the administrative process and the international tender to select the architecture firm that will implement the master plan concerning the guidelines for the Farini station (407,000 Sq m)”.

Coima Sgr was assisted in the operation by the firm Chiomenti for the legal part, Maisto for the tax part and Inzaghi Belvedere & Partners concerning the urban planning laws.

“The Valtellina-Farini train station is a strategic area that might become the pilot project for a new cultural, urban, architectonic, and methodologic paradigm for an innovative way of doing urban planning – commented Manfredi Catella, Coima Sgr founder and Ceo–. Such a project will contribute making of Milan a lab for innovation and social integration, promoting best practices in the other Italian cities and abroad”.

To commit even further to the sustainable development of the territory, Coima constituted a Sustainable Innovation Committee, a multidisciplinary task force working on the themes of sustainability, digitalisation, technology, management and smart construction. The team will also work on the Valtellina-Farini project to research on product innovation, the application of technologies in regards to the future needs of the tenants, as well as environmental and social sustainability.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi