Preatoni Keeps Construction Project

The reconstruction of the building was initiated in 1999 by EVG Holdings, but in 2003 the company transferred its rights to Dom na Moike, which was supposed to receive the governmental permission by August 2003.

However, when the permit didn't turn up, Dom na Moike decided to keep building, said Vladimir Maslov, the company's general director in a telephone interview on Monday.

In April 2004 the State Architectural and Construction Control Committee ordered the construction to stop. Maslov said that it is the prolonged bureaucratic procedure that was to blame for the delay in the construction process, not the company.

The company has already invested $4 million, while the estimated total cost of the project is around $14 million, he said. The reconstruction plans include turning the house into a multi-functional residential complex with a hotel and an apartment block, Maslov said.

Dom na Moike's hotel is due to be run by Domina, an international hotel chain of 4 to 5 star hotels. Maslov said that 19 Italian investors and three Russians have already signed contracts with Domina, acting as future owners of the apartments. They are supposed to eventually sell their property to the managing company, Domina Hotels.

Last week's session of the Tender and Investment Committee was also the last one of its kind, as the system of allocating construction lots in St. Petersburg has changed - instead of distributing the lots, the city administration will now hold tenders for every one of them. Still, the decision regar-ding the Dom na Moike project was made, and the Committee asked the company to collect all the necessary documentation in order to regain the construction permit.

"We're doing our best to pass through all the formalities this time," Maslov said.

Dom na Moike is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in St. Petersburg. The company has initiated the creation of the Hospitality Committee within the AmCham.

Ernesto Preatoni Group has two companies in St. Petersburg. One of them, Purneco Ltd is the owner of a business center on Zhikovskogo street. Ernesto Preatoni is an Italian businessman, operating several businesses in the Baltic States (including a bank in Latvia, and several shopping malls in the Baltic States.)

News source: www.times.spb.ru