Penthouse – from the attic to the prestigious living space

It is interesting that in the 17th – 19th centuries, before the mass spread of elevators, that is, until the beginning of the 20th century (although the elevator was invented much earlier, however, it was the prerogative of separate, government and public buildings), roofed apartments cost, on the contrary, much less than usual.

Firstly, it was rather difficult to get to them, because daily walks along the flights of stairs did not bring much pleasure to the owners, and secondly, such housing differed either with a sloped roof, or a small area, or had a number of other disadvantages, for example, there were only windows on a sloping roof, which did not give the opportunity to observe the city landscape.

However, the situation changed quite quickly – during the construction boom that New York experienced in the 20s of the last century, American millionaires appreciated the opportunity to live in the city center, while enjoying all the advantages of a separate country house, and modern elevators at that time already allowed to get rid of from the problem of climbing to the last floor.

The first penthouse in Moscow is considered to be the house of the famous constructivist architect Moisey Ginzburg, erected on the roof of a residential building designed by him, in which it was planned to resettle the employees of the People’s Commissariat of Finance.

This house was also erected in the 20s of the XX century on the site of two estates facing the Novinsky Boulevard of the capital. Currently, this monument of constructivism is included in the “List of endangered monuments of world culture”, most of the families have already been evicted from it, and the state of the architectural monument is assessed by experts as critical.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the second floor most often became the “lordly”, the most prestigious floor of an apartment building, while on the first floor there were commercial enterprises, in particular, shops, and only poor students and servants settled on the last floor.

It was rather difficult to find a penthouse in Moscow 15 years ago. The first elite apartment building was erected in the capital in 1995 at Veresaeva 6, but it offered only elite multi-level apartments, including attic.

Earlier, multi-level mansards in Moscow appeared in the Stalinist period, after the resettlement of communal apartments, however, such apartments under the roof of a large area cannot be called penthouses. The first modern penthouse was erected in the capital at Molochny, 11 in 1996, and only after that the popularity of such elite housing began to grow, which immediately became in demand among the “new Russians”.

Features of Russian penthouses

The main thing that unites penthouses located in the Russian capital with similar elite apartments in London and New York is the uniqueness of each individual proposal. Penthouses in all metropolitan areas of the world remain a piece, elite product, and even among the mass of new proposals on the real estate market, real penthouses can literally be counted on the fingers.

The difference between Moscow penthouses and, for example, London ones, is that they are usually offered to buyers in the form of open-plan housing, that is, the new owner independently develops the interior, plans the placement of rooms and the interior space. Whereas in the English capital, penthouses are put up for sale after a professional designer has worked with the living space, with already carried out repairs, furnishings, and built-in household appliances. Of course, this significantly increases the cost of such a finished housing, however, it makes the penthouse a model of the work of a designer, often with a worldwide reputation..

Chizhova Victoria. Another world. 2010

In addition, many experts point out that Moscow penthouses are distinguished by a disproportionate ratio of the area of ​​residential premises and an open terrace. According to experts, for a penthouse with an area of ​​about 200-250 square meters, the optimal size of an open terrace, taking into account the Moscow climate and the needs of buyers, will be 80-100 square meters, while developers can offer new owners a terrace almost equal to the apartment itself.

As for the cost of such prestigious housing, in Moscow the average price of 1 square meter in a penthouse ranges from 20 to 65 thousand dollars. The cost of a penthouse in London, with an area of ​​about 200 square meters, starts at 15 thousand pounds and can reach exorbitant heights, depending on the area of ​​the city and the quality of finishes.

Rating of the most expensive penthouses in Moscow

According to the capital’s real estate agencies, most of the Moscow penthouses are concentrated in the Ostozhenka area. Compiling a list of the most expensive offers on the penthouse market in the capital is complicated by the fact that sellers usually declare the cost only upon request, when they are convinced of the buyer’s serious intentions. Often transactions are carried out in a closed auction, and the cost of the penthouses remains a mystery. The rating, which we managed to draw up on the proposals with the announced price, looks like this:

1. Residential Complex “Ostozhenka 11”, a penthouse with an area of ​​894 square meters is sold for $ 29 million and is the absolute leader in the Moscow real estate market. This residential complex is distinguished by an interesting architectural solution, in total, the house is designed for only 38 apartments with an open plan.
2. Residential Complex “B. Nikitskaya “, 45. Penthouse worth $ 25 million and an area of ​​560 square meters, located on the 6th and 7th floors of the building, is serviced by its own maintenance service and has a complete lack of finishing.
3. Residential Complex “Barykovsky, 7”. This penthouse is sold at a price of $ 23 million, has an area of ​​560 square meters and is located on the 4th floor of a de luxe mansion.
4. Residential Complex “Granatny, 6”. The cost of this 824 square meter penthouse is $ 22 million. In addition to a large terrace with an area of ​​286 square meters, this residential building also has a covered veranda. This new building consists of 3 buildings, designed for 27 apartments, the architect of the project was Sergey Tchoban, who designed the Federation tower.
5. Residential Complex “House on Pokrovsky Boulevard”. The price of this penthouse is also $ 22 million. The house is located in the historical center and is surrounded by architectural monuments of the 17th – 19th centuries, including city estates, mansions of the Russian aristocracy and ancient temples. The penthouse has two terraces and an exploited roof, located on the 10th floor of the building. The area of ​​the object is 530.6 square meters, both terraces and the roof are enclosed by a special wind-proof fence made of high strength glass.
6. Residential Complex “Patriarch”. The penthouse at 44 Bronnaya Street is located on Patriarch’s Ponds, the total area of ​​the two-level premises is 380 square meters. The penthouse is located on the 12th and 13th floors of the building, has 2 terraces and is sold for $ 20 million.
7. Residential Complex “Bryusov, 19”. Another two-level penthouse, total area – 590 square meters, terrace – 76 “squares”, is located in the area of ​​Tverskaya Street and offers a stunning view of the domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Moscow Kremlin. The height of the ceilings in the premises is 3.3-3.8 meters. Penthouse price – $ 18 million.
8. Residential Complex Crystal House. The project, created by the architect Yuri Grigoryan, is located in the area of ​​the Moscow “golden mile”. The area of ​​this penthouse is 440 square meters, the highlight of the project is a courtyard with a unique landscape design, decorated with a fountain. Penthouse cost – $ 17.6 million.
9. Residential Complex “Imperial House”. The project is located in Zamoskvorechye; only 1 apartment is located on each floor of the tower. The area of ​​the penthouse, estimated by the seller at $ 17.5 million and offering panoramic views of the entire capital – 465 square meters.
10. Residential Complex “Copernicus”. A distinctive feature of this LCD is 2 huge round windows, framed by mosaic panels. The area of ​​the two-level penthouse is 396 square meters, it is located on the 15th and 16th floors and offers potential owners 2 view terraces with a total area of ​​230 square meters. Object price – $ 17 million.

Soon the most expensive penthouse “white stone” may become an object with an area of ​​1 thousand square meters, which is located in the RC “Prechistenka, 13” and will soon appear on the market of elite offers.

According to the data of real estate agencies, most often the buyers of penthouses are, of course, big businessmen and celebrities, often appearing in the Forbes lists. The reasons why millionaires go to such expensive purchases are usually:

• the prestige of the object;
• isolation of residence, lack of neighbors and the ability to protect your personal life from the curiosity of ordinary people;
• striving for self-realization;
• “Zest” possessed by this or that object;
• in Western countries, penthouses are also often called a profitable investment of capital (however, in Russia, the liquidity of such objects is not yet too high);
• in the end, the penthouse is acquired simply because it is pleasant – the living area itself, and the panoramic view from the huge windows and the feeling of life on the “top of the world”.

As for the prospects for the development of the penthouse market in Russia – as long as there are real estate buyers willing to pay millions of dollars for the prestige, status and privacy that a real penthouse guarantees, the market will develop, and new proposals will appear annually. It is certainly beneficial for the developers themselves, instead of several apartments at an average price, to build a penthouse on the same area, the cost of which will be several times higher.