Tag: Urban planning

The cities attracting investments. Florence surpassed Rome and is just behind Milan

22 February, Il Sole 24 Ore

Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance culture which will never go out of fashion, surpassed Rome in terms of investment attractivity placing just after Milan. The results come from Nomisma, which gathered the data in Italy2Invest-Urban Data Intelligence, its integrated platform measuring the attractivity, competitivity and wellbeing of the Italian market in order to support investors and policymakers. A novelty worth to see in detail.

The Italy2Invest indicator

The general index generated from the analysis of the data included in the Nomisma platform shows a score from 0 to 100 placing Milan first with a rating of 75.2. Florence ranks second with a score of 71.4, followed by Bologna and Turin. Rome is only fifth with a score of 63.5. The city ranks 22nd in the Municipality chart, where Milan and Florence are again respectively first and second. The promoters of the Capital in terms of investment attractivity will undoubtedly disagree with this chart.

To give a more precise idea, we must clarify that the general index includes 250 indicators referring to 7,998 Italian cities. The 2018 overview shows a total average score of the various towns equal to 52.7 for 2018, 60.8 for the provincial capitals only and 63.4 for metropolitan cities. The average incorporates a minimum value, referred to all the cites, equal to 28.8, and a maximum value of 75.2, referred to Milan. Among the provincial capitals, Rome ranks 17th, surpassed by cities such as Como, Pavia, Monza and Padova.

Florence’s appeal

The Nomisma general index is based on the identification of eight main “domains”, 601 indicators and 22 information resources, both public and private. Florence not only ranked second but also reported the highest performance, with a positive spread of 17.4 points in comparison with the average of provincial capitals and of 12.6 points compared to the average of metropolitan cities. Three “domains” contributed to such high score: tourism, real estate market and services, and consumptions. Florence’s touristic sector scored 100, while real estate scored 90.

The main four parameters measuring Florence’s excellent ranking in tourism are the number of business for Sq km, the total tourists’ arrivals for Sq km, the impact of international tourism and the utilisation rate. Visits in Florence were 3,826,699 in 2017 (this is the period analysed by Nomisma), reporting a 6.6% growth from 2016; presences were 10,056,157 (+7.74%), and the average duration of stays was 2,63 nights.

The property market

Concerning this domain, Nomisma took into consideration the prices of shops and the intensity index of the real estate market. Specifically, the weighted average price of shops in Florence in the second quarter of 2018 was 2,766 euro/Sq m, against the 2,361 euro/Sq m of houses and the 2,136 euro/Sq m of offices. The weighted average rents were 182 euro/Sq m/year for shops (the numbers refer to the second quarter of 2018), 118 euro/Sq m/year for houses and 105 euro/Sq m/year for offices.

For what concerns services, the Nomisma indicator considers the number of nursing homes and hospitals in relation to the population, the Municipality’s expenditure concerning support to families and children and the Municipality’s expenditure concerning social protection and support to homeless people. Florence places very high in the chart for this indicator. For instance, nursing homes and hospitals per Sq km are equal to 0.74 in comparison with the average of 0.41 of metropolitan cities and 0.32 of provincial capitals.

A new prospect

The general index Italy2Invest offers a new outlook to assess the attractivity of Italian regions, and it breaks with the tradition of the Milan-Rome axis generally used when talking about real estate deals, introducing investors to a new point of view. Large players may disagree, but it’s important to stress that cities like Florence are currently the object of important deals such as the acquisition of the Four Season’s hotel. Not only, the city is also undergoing important requalification interventions, as well as important real estate developments.

Big requalification projects in Florence

Hotels, luxury residences, shopping centres and offices are the main requalification opportunities in Florence, where the urban renewal process started in 2015. According to the City of Florence and the Region of Tuscany, the potential investments are assessed at around 1.5 billion euro, for requalification projects covering a total surface of 800 thousand Sq m. Among the most interesting projects, there are Villa Mondeggi, the Sant’Orsola monastery, the Lupi di Toscana barracks, Officine Grandi Riparazioni (“the repair workshop”) and the former military hospital San Gallo.

Villa Mondeggi

An agricultural and historical property just outside Florence, in Bagno a Ripoli, it offers breath-taking views for a total surface of 170 hectares, 46 olive groves, 22 vineyards, and 34 wooded areas. The main villa covers 6 thousand Sq m, while farms occupy other 3 thousand Sq m. The construction dates back to the 15th century. As decided by the city administration, the property’s use intended is mixed, from hospitality to residential and agricultural production. The asset was put on auction at the end of last year. The public auction will take place on 1st March at 7 pm.

Sant’Orsola monastery

This requalification project concerns a 5,356 Sq m area extendable to 17,500 Sq m. The area dates back to the 16th century. The total investments for touristic use amount to 35 million euro. The property is located in the heart of the old town, close to the Medici Chapel, the Cathedral and the San Lorenzo market. The area has been completely neglected. It will become a multifunctional centre which will also host the Bocelli Academy Music School along with a guesthouse and a 17 thousand Sq m public square. The proposal for the site’s requalification arrived at the beginning of February, and it’s currently being assessed by the city administration.

Lupi di Toscana barracks

Its intended use will be disclosed in detail based on the offers and the ideas which will be submitted. The site concerns an area of 34 thousand Sq m, with the addition of approximately other 20 thousand Sq m, for a total surface of 53 thousand Sq m to be requalified and investments for about 100 million euro. The site benefits from excellent connections thanks to the tramway line nearby. It’s already certain that the project will include a residential component, comprising social housing dedicated to young people and mixed-use assets. In January, the relaunch process of the barracks was accelerated, as announced by City Councillor for urban planning Giovanni Bettarini, after having met with the experts and the winners of the bid.

“We’ve chosen to bring forward at the same time the recovery plan and the related variant to the planning regulations – said Bettarini – in order to accelerate with the schedule and to recover quickly such a precious metropolitan area. In April, the urban planning commission will check the status of the project before preparing the final documents, so that we’ll be able to make the last amendments based on the requests and remarks”.

Officine Grandi Riparazioni

The potential investment amounts to 16.5 million euro concerning an area of 82 thousand Sq m, 54 thousand of which will be requalified. The complex is located in the Porta al Prato area, which is currently vacant, near Teatro dell’Opera designed by the architect Paolo Desideri and the Leopolda station, not far from the city centre. The asset has a mixed intended use including hotels and residences, commercial spaces and services.

Old San Gallo hospital

The buildable area covers 16,200 Sq m. The property was built between 1100 and 1700. The potential investment amounts to 45 million euro. This asset is located in the old town, which is a Unesco heritage site.  The project implies the mix of functions such as hotels, residences and public spaces. As shown in the preliminary masterplan, there will be hotel suites and luxury apartments overlooking the San Marco Dome.

There are also plans to implement a bus terminal close by for a surface of over 11,800 Sq m, whose intended use can’t be modified, but for which the bus company Ataf is ready to pay a yearly rent of 3.1 million euro.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

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

The future Milan starts from its old train yards

08 December, Avvenire

The House of Energy and Environment in Piazza Po will exhibit till 28th December 38 pictures of Milan’s seven old train yards currently under requalification following a project that will radically change the city.

Photographers Marco Introini and Francesco Radino along with the curator Fabrizio Trisoglio titled the photo exhibition “Railway yards of Milan. Today, before Tomorrow”. The exhibition was organised by the Aem Foundation – A2A group- and it depicts the old rail years of Farini, Greco, Lambrate, Porta Romana, Rogoredo, Porta Genova and San Cristoforo. The seven locations cover a vacant surface of 1,250,000 Sq m altogether. They contributed to the industrial development of the city, facilitating the transport and shipping of finished goods and essential products, as well as providing to the growth of the neighbouring areas.

While the black and white pictures of Introini stress the architectural aspects showing how Milan has changed, the colour photography of Radino makes the internal spaces standing out combining memory, man and nature.

Thanks to the work of the two photographers, Aem Foundation has been documenting since the Eighties the changes of the city and the modernisation of its infrastructures which, focusing on the themes of community and enterprise, as well as on the relationship between services and territory starting indeed from Porta Romana where the foundation is headquartered.

Aem president Alberto Martinelli says that “the old rail yards have definitely been a key element for the growth of Milan. Overcoming the urban and social dividing lines required and will require a management with a common view betting on the quality of the city and its innovation”. Urban Planning City Councillor Pierfrancesco Maran commented: “Milan can grow sustainably, through the increase of green spaces and public transportation and the offer of new public services and housing”.

The exhibition has been included in Photofestival and Novecento Italiano, and it comes with a catalogue of 80 pictures with texts by the curator and the photographers along with prefaces by Maran, Martinelli and A2A president Giovanni Valotti.

Source: Avvenire

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

50 proposals for the Farini and San Cristoforo stations in Milan

29 November, Corriere della Sera

Fifty candidates are competing for the masterplan concerning the requalification of the former Farini and San Cristoforo train stations. The collection phase of the applications ended last Friday, as an international bid was promoted by Fs Sistemi Urbani and Coima Sgr. Now the committee will have to select five multidisciplinary teams that will access the second phase of the competition concerning the creation of a business plan and finally the winner will be nominated in April.

“Such a high number of participants, most of whom are young international professionals, shows the appeal of Milan as a laboratory for sustainable urban innovation”, commented Coima Ceo Manfredi Catella. Carlo De Vito, Fs Sistemi Urbani president, is also positive: “we expect innovative and sustainable solutions. This can be the occasion to redesign an important part of the city. It will be one of the biggest requalification projects in Milan”.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Transaltor: Cristina Ambrosi

Milan: Uptown is expanding

23 November, Corriere della Sera

Cascina Merlata, also known as Uptown, is becoming greener and greener. And there will be more to come in the next two years, plus the shopping centre is changing investor. Attilio di Cunto, Ceo of Euromilano, the company which is developing the smart district in the north-west of the city, explains: “Our objective is reconnecting the Gallaratese area with Mind, namely the former Expo”. A seven-hectare public park will be inaugurated tomorrow, the next of the 18 already present in the city. The area was formerly a parking space for buses carrying tourist heading to the Expo. Besides the apartments block under construction, there are 3,400 trees, 7,500 aquatic plants and 10 kilometres of cycling lanes. City Councillor Pierfrancesco Maran says: “this is the third park we inaugurate in three months in such a strategic area”.

The project is meant to expand. The City of Milan, trough a volume exchange operation, is now the owner of the Gaslini garden, with a surface of five hectares next to Cascina Merlata which has been left abandoned for almost a decade. The rows of plants have become an unkempt forest, and the city administration is thinking to appoint Euromilano to take care of it. “We’ll have to clean the undergrowth and re-plant the trees. We’re thinking to create educative paths and training activities for schools with workshops dedicated to plants and animals”.

The plan concerning the shopping centre in the north of Cascina Merlata has changed. The shopping centre is meant to serve as a visive and sound barrier between the houses and the A4 motorway.  The group Fawaz Abdulaziz Al Hokair withdrew from the project, after having signed the preliminary agreement for the development of a 65 thousand Sq m shopping mall by the end of 2019. Allegedly, the Arab family doesn’t have the necessary funds. Several other investors are interested in taking its place.

Besides the already existing social housing, the new neighbourhood will also feature private construction. 137 families will move into the first lot of apartments by May 2019. The plan also includes a school for 920 pupils.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Big brands and no cars: Piazza Cordusio like Times Square

11 November, Il Giornale

Cordusio in Milan like Times Square, the iconic pedestrian walk surrounded by big brands in New York. That might be the direction to follow, although gradually and on a smaller scale. The change started with the opening of a Starbucks store on 6th September in the former Post office building. Two months from the inauguration, there are still people queuing outside the shop. The builders have recently started dismantling the construction site around the former Sorgente building (14 thousand Sq m of surface) owned by Hines. This restyling will add value to the square.

The last piece to complete the remodelling is Palazzo Broggi which used to accommodate the Unicredit offices, now sold to the Chinese fund Fosun and currently under renovation. Unicredit will move at number 2 in Cordusio. The Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo will open its first store in Italy on 6th April. The store will be located opposite Starbucks, and it will develop over three floors and a 2,500 Sq m surface. On the other side of the building, on Via Dante, Yamamay will open its 1,000 Sq m flagship store which was postponed from December to February. It will also feature a “YamaCaffè”. The lingerie brand, in fact, intends also expanding to catering and home décor even. Finally, there is the majestic Assicurazioni Generali building, as the insurance company moved to CityLife and almost emptied the lower floors. After petitions and lengthy negotiations, also the iconic Ditta Guenzanti, the oldest shop in Milan, accepted to move to Via Agnello. The information about the new occupant is strictly confidential, but the property might have attracted a hotel chain.

The restyling process of the square has finally picked up. The site has no distinctive identity at present. Passing through the square by car or by tram, it breaks the discontinuity of the pedestrian walk that goes from Piazza San Babila to Castello. Last June, Fosun, Hines and Generali presented to the City of Milan the plan to restyle Cordusio Square which is signed by Leonardo Freyrie. The lawyer Antonio Belvedere, associate of the low firm Bip-Belvedere Inzaghi & Partners, is following the negotiations between the private companies, the city administration and the public transport company. He says that the collaboration in unanimous: “The property owners had united and offered to use the planning fees to requalify the square. And they’re willing to add also a gift subsidy”.

The intervention will happen in two steps. In the first phase, the construction activity will not interfere with the works for the M4 metro line; it will rather focus on renovating the paving of the square and on implementing traffic lights for pedestrians. In the second phase, when it will be possible to block such a critical traffic junction, the road and sidewalk will be levelled out, restricting the access to trams and taxis only. The area between Via Broletto and Via Meravigli, at the beginning with Via Dante, will also be closed to cars. The restyling will extend to Via Orefici and Tommaso Grossi, while the tracks might be moved to the centre of the road in order to broaden the sidewalk. The plan presented in June has been partially modified, and it’s currently being evaluated by the Superintendence. City Councillor for urban planning Pierfrancesco Maran explains: “We added more green spaces to the original layout”. It was the plan’s weakness since the metro line is only two metres underground: it wasn’t possible to plant roots. Maran anticipates: “We’re almost done. We want to start the construction works by mid-2019. The budget is between 2 and 4 billion. A part of the expenses for the restyling of the buildings will be privately funded as a gift subsidy”.

Source: Il Giornale

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Genoa: trial courts in the former Rinascente

06 November, La Repubblica

A court in place of the Rinascente department stores that closed down after 60 years. An actual district where to move the offices of the Justice of Peace, the Juvenile Court and the Surveillance Court. The President of the Court of Genoa, Enrico Ravera, has already discussed it with Mayor Marco Bucci. Something is moving to prevent the property will remain empty. The owners are Carige, Generali and the American fund Varde Partners – the same that last year acquired the whole Boscolo Hotels portfolio. But what is more important is recovering the heart of the city, otherwise destined to a sad and relentless decline. Giancarlo Vinacci, City Councillor for Economic Development, explains that “we’re evaluating the possibility of opening new shops and assigning the Urban Free Zone status to the area as provided by the Genoa Decree to benefit from the tax relief programs”.

For what concerns Rinascente, its destiny depends on the Ministry of Justice. The National Association of Judges (ANM) sent its proposal for turning it into a judicial district to the Minister’s committee that is in charge of the maintenance of the judiciary offices in Genoa and Liguria. The committee will then transfer the proposal to Rome. Domenico Pellegrini, judge and Genoa’s ANM president, explains: “the city administration seems to be interested in the judicial district idea. The solution will be very much appreciated by lawyers too”. The judiciary office spaces are limited at present: “The offices of the Judge of Peace are distributed between the sixth and seventh floor of a building in Via De Amicis, and, with all the people coming and going, it’s not ideal”. There are also the Surveillance Court in Via XII Ottobre, the Juvenile Court in Via IV November and the Graduate School of Magistrates in Via del Seminario.

In addition, also the courts where trials take place, the magistrates’ and administrative offices need more space. The Ministry of Justice would have to pay for the relocation after having evaluated whether to buy or to rent the space.

Rinascente is closed. Moody, belonging to the Fogliani group, is being chased by creditors after the bankruptcy of Qui Group! Popular shops such as Bagnara and Berti closed a long time ago, Vezzoni has downsized, the Piccapietra gallery is a desolation. Andrea Carratù, president of the central-eastern district, intervenes: “The only way to relaunch this area is to incentivise new openings. But we need initiatives such as the reduction of Tari and Imu”. Civ XX Settembre President Ilaria Natoli agrees with that: “The area will benefit a lot from an operation like that. Apart from the collapse of the Morandi bridge, the city is going through a deep crisis. We can see with our own eyes the results: people are gone, shops are closing one after the other”.

The benefits for the businesses operating in the Urban Free Zone are the exemption from taxes like Irpef, Ires, Irap and Imu or the payment for the staff’s social security and national insurance contributions. Pietro Biciocchi, City Councillor for Budget, intervenes: “We must see whether there is the budget to do that, as the necessary investment to implement an Urban Free Zone is 10 million”. There should be 100 million available as provided by the Budget Law. Vinacci continues: “We’re currently studying new solutions to favour new businesses. We’ll include them in a brochure that will be ready in a couple of weeks”.

Source: La Repubblica

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Milan: Rai offices to relocate in Portello

03 November, Libero

Now that the people for the most strategic roles have been appointed, such as the newscast ones, the Milan project can be resumed. Milan’s city administration has relaunched the plan of moving the Rai (the national broadcasting company) headquarters to Milan. The administration requested a united proposal for a project coordination study to Fondazione Fiera Milan concerning the relocation of the RAI production centre in the wings 1 and 2 of the former exhibition centre in Portello.

This is a tactical move rather than technical. The request comes after the good results of a market survey launched by Rai concerning the operation that might conclude by the end of 2019, as explained by the City Councillor for urban planning Pierfrancesco Maran. He commented: “we’re happy about this project concerning Portello and its future function. We’ll start soon a collaboration with Fondazione Fiera to implement the objectives of the program as agreed”.

Source: Libero

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Investors are interested in the Italian real estate market, but politics is the obstacle

26 October, Il Sole 24 Ore

The future is still volatile and uncertain. The reason is the current political situation and not the economy. Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, explains Italy’s situation during the Real Estate Forum organised by Coima in Milan. The picture is even more evident when analysing the figures. Sri-Kumar says: “The decrease of the unemployment rate has gone from two digits to one digit. In the meanwhile, the GDP has been growing for the last 18 quarters, and it will remain stable for the rest of the year. The stock of non-performing loans has reduced considerably (-10%)”. NPLs are expected to further decrease also for the next year.

Urban planning City Councillor Pierfrancesco Maran briefly pictures to the operators and the international investors Milan as the city where to invest in the future. “Milan is evolving. It will soon welcome 50 thousand people. For this reason, we studied a territorial zoning plan able to expand the investment areas. We chose Santa Giulia for the Olympics games. Moreover, the city will also grow thanks to the requalification of the old stations. We want to incentive investing in the suburbs through partnerships between the private and the public sector”.

The operations recently concluded in Milan, like the one concerning the Legance headquarters in Via Broletto sold to Hines, show reducing returns, aligned with the European trend set around 3.15-3.3%. The demand for new, modern and technologic offices is still high, in the city centre as well as elsewhere. 62 thousand workers are expected to arrive in the city in the next five years. Meanwhile, the rest of the country provides investment opportunities in the logistics and hospitality segments, both offering good potential and returns.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi