Milan has been was chosen to host the 2015 Universal Exposition, a victory expected not only to lead to new architectural and infrastructure projects but also give a push to a number of high-profile developments already underway in Italy's finance and fashion capital.
Milan has been was chosen to host the 2015 Universal Exposition, a victory expected not only to lead to new architectural and infrastructure projects but also give a push to a number of high-profile developments already underway in Italy's finance and fashion capital.
Many of these large projects have been betting on Milan becoming a polycentric city but that had still been in doubt, said Armando Borghi, head of the Masters in Real Estate program at Milan's Bocconi University. He expects the location of the Expo 2015 site in an outlying area of the city should instead help that process along.
Expo 2015 will be located on a 1.1 million m2 site in the vicinity of Milan's modernistic Rho-Pero trade fair in the western outskirts of the city, with an additional one million m2 for support facilities. A total EUR 4.1bn has been earmarked for the project. Some EUR 1.25bn will be invested for preparing the site and constructing necessary facilities while EUR 1.78bn will be used to better connect the site to outlying areas. Among planned works are a new subway line and the creation of a 20-kilometre long waterway known as the Via d’Acqua with 800 hectares of green space, one of the keystones of a project organisers say is focused on sustainable development and creating new green areas.
'The area is designed to become a cornerstone of the metropolitan structure: during and after the Expo, it will be enhanced by landscape improvements and the creation of public parks, new lakes and waterways, as well as residential areas, shopping complexes and offices,' according to Milan's Expo dossier. The city says it already has a broad agreement to redevelop the site after Expo ends and will reconvert major buildings constructed for the fair to public use. Meanwhile, an international competition will be held for an Expo master plan. While plans for a 200-metre tall landmark building were contained in the city's proposal, the project now appears in doubt after mayor Moratti said the symbol of Expo would instead be a sustainable development centre.
Organisers are betting the project should ensure EUR 10bn in already planned infrastructure projects get done. Projects led by private developers to transform the city, such of the creation of the new upscale Santa Giulia neighbourhood and the CityLife project at the site of the Milan's former trade fair, are also expected to get a push forward.
