London's Shard eclipsed as Moscow's Mercury Tower becomes Europe's tallest skyscraper
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Mercury City, the tower Russian retail billionaire Igor Kesaev is building in Moscow's new financial district, overtook the Shard in London as Europe's tallest skyscraper.
The tower reached its full height of 339 meters (1,112 feet), 29 meters more than the Shard, Kesaev's Mercury Development said Thursday, citing Hamburg, Germany-based researcher Emporis. The 70-story skyscraper, designed by U.S. architect Frank Williams, who died in 2010, and Russia's Mikhail Posokhin, is be completed in the first quarter next year.
"When I first came to New York in 1991 and saw the Chrysler building and the Citibank one, I thought that such kind of skyscrapers should appear in Moscow," Kesaev said at a press conference in the Russian capital Thursday. "Now, 20 years later, this dream has come true."
Kesaev, who made his $1.8 billion fortune in wholesale tobacco and food retailing, was among a handful of tycoons to start building skyscrapers in Moscow City, the capital's emerging financial district. Not all reached fruition.
Billionaire Chalva Tchigirinsky scrapped a plan to build a 612-meter Norman Foster designed skyscraper after the onset of the global financial crisis. Sergei Polonsky, who built Federation Tower in Moscow City, lost his projects to banks as they were pledged as loan collateral.
Investment in the project totaled $1 billion, Kesaev said. The tower has about 90,000 square meters (970,000 square feet) of office space and 20,000 square meters of apartments, according to the developer's website.
"There will definitely be good demand for offices in such a prestigious location as Moscow City," said Nikola Obajdin, head of office property at Knight Frank in Moscow. "The rental price should be at a market level of about $800 to $900 per square meter a year, but on this stage of construction tenants expect it to be about $700."
Most demand for apartments comes from speculative investors and there's a large supply of units in Moscow City from other developers, according to Knight Frank. The starting price for apartments in Mercury City is $11,100 a square meter, according to its website.
"It may take Mercury three to four years to sell out the apartments," said Olga Tarakanova, head of city sales at Knight Frank. "Wealthy individuals who bought apartments in Moscow City several years ago are offering them for sale now."
Developers such as Capital Group, owned by Vladislav Doronin, are offering apartments in early-stage skyscrapers in Moscow City for as little as $6,500 a square meter, according to Knight Frank.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments