The Orthodox Church in Russia has set up an investment centre which will develop commercial real estate on church-owned lands. The Investment Programmes Centre has already earmarked over 100 locations in Moscow for development.
The Orthodox Church in Russia has set up an investment centre which will develop commercial real estate on church-owned lands. The Investment Programmes Centre has already earmarked over 100 locations in Moscow for development.
'Imagine how difficult it is now to find a ground to build an office or a high-class residence in Moscow city centre, even if one has enough money. There is a shortage of such plots of land. But the church as the land, and this provides the opening for our future projects,' a Church representative is quoted as saying in Russian daily newspaper Vremya Novostey.
Increased demand for commercial properties, coupled with constrained supply, is driving up rents in the Russian capital. However, developers may be forced into the suburbs due to difficulties developing in the city centre, according the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Europe 2007 report.
Elena Shulgina, head of the Investment Programmes Centre, said the Church could benefit from this by making its land plots available for development. The Church's new real estate assets will include offices, shops, exhibition centres and hotels, some located 'five minutes walk from the Kremlin', Shulgina said.
The Orthodox Church, which was the biggest economic power in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, is also branching out into farming and high-tech industries.
