Availability Of Industrial Sites Fuels Citywide Transformation

With millions of square feet of formerly industrial areas available for redevelopment, Milan is on the verge of a major urban transformation.

1 minute read

July 12, 2007, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"The departure of manufacturing produced an abundance of what the city needs most: large urban spaces, available for redevelopment. And just the beginning of that work has turned Milan into the largest construction site in Europe."

"In a report last year, Scenari Immobiliari, an independent research institute, identified around 6 million square meters, or 2.4 square miles, of industrial land in Milan. Much of that industrial space is covered by reminders of a bygone era - defunct steel foundries, sprawling chemical plants and shuttered factories like those that churned out Alfa Romeo and Maserati automobiles."

"A recent report estimated that there are 150 urban redevelopment projects either at the design stage or in construction now throughout Milan and that €15 billion to €20 billion, or $20.2 billion to $27 billion, is committed to the projects."

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 in International Herald Tribune

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