Victory Day In Sochi

Today, May 9, Sochi observed Victory Day, the day of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.  A moment of silence was observed at the central memorial.  Sochisiders spent the day in the parks, at a concert on Administration and on the streets.  The cafes and restaurants have been filled all day with families and parties as people celebrated the beautiful weather and the victory won at incredible costs.  

I met Sochi Mayor Anatoli Nikolayevich Pakhomov near Riviera Park at a celebration honoring some of the city's surviving veterans of what is known as the Great Patriotic War.

Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov and Veterans

May Sochi Rental Summary

The residential rental market in Sochi's Adler District (home to the Olympic Park) continues to tighten.  We are working with several companies renting apartments and are seeing a rapid absorption of available capacity and rising prices in the few newer buildings in Adler's center that conform to western standards.  A one room apartment with western standards will cost from 40,000- 50,000 rubles per month (about $1,330 to $1,660).  A two room apartment will cost from about 65,000 rubles to 80,000 rubles a month (app. $2,160- $2,660).  A larger apartment with three rooms, runs from 90,000- 120,000 + rubles each month (app.$3,000- $4,000).   Utilities will vary according to size and location.  Bear in mind, that Russian apartments consider rooms, rather than bedrooms, the standard.  A room is anything other than a kitchen, bathroom, corridor or balcony (living rooms frequently double as bedrooms). 

Adler Rental

Central Sochi, regarded as a more desirable location because of its physical beauty, shopping, restaurants and a larger number of western-style apartments, is now somewhat less expensive than central Adler District.  The distance between Adler (and the Olympic Park) and central Sochi is only about 25 kilometers, but the commute can be long.  Nonetheless, for those who work in the center or with flexible schedules, Sochi is becoming an increasingly attractive opportunity because the ruble goes further.

Sochi Rental

One room apartments with western standards in the pedestrian center of Sochi will run from 35,000- 60,000 rubles per month (app. $1,160- $2,000).  Two room apartments cost 40.000 to 60,000 rubles each month (app. $1,330. $2,000).  An apartment with three rooms  (85 - 100 square meters) will run from 70,000 to 100,000 rubles monthly (app. $2,330- $3,330) and up to 120,000 (app. $4,000) for the best and largest apartments on the best streets.  There are large, two-floor penthouses with spectacular views available at monthly rentals of 125,000 to 300,000 + rubles (app. $4,160- $10,000).

Penthouse View

Office space in Adler runs about 1,200- 1,500 rubles per square meter per month ($3.68 to $4.60 per square foot per month).  Central Sochi offices also typically costs from 1,200 to 1,500 rubles per square meter per month.  A new mixed-use building in the center with sweeping views of the city offers offices from as small as 18 square meters to a larger suite of about 220 square meters at 1,300 rubles per square meter per month ($3.99 per square foot per month). The new Class "A" building (shown below) near the Sochi City Administration has offices ranging from 2,500 rubles to 5,000 rubles per square meter per month ($7.68 to $15.35 per square foot per month).

Please contact me directly for workforce accommodations, office rentals and all desination management needs, including transport, documentation, communication and event management: bruce@destinationsochi.com

New Office Building

Video Of May Day In Sochi

We have posted a new video on SochChannel.com of the events held in Sochi on May Day.  The traditional worker's holiday is celebrated all across Russia on the 1st of May.  Sochi celebrated the holiday with a parade past the Winter Theater.  Park Dendrary was opened to the public free of charge, also.

Sochi Newsletter- May 3

Sochi Newsletter- May 3 has been sent to subscribers.  Included are photos and details about May Day in Sochi and other recent developments in Sochi.  Please follow this link and sign up for the newsletter.  Next week, in the newsletter, we will include a summary of our survey of office and residential rental prices for central Sochi and Adler. We are currently working with outside groups on workforce accommodation.  It looks like the predicted rise in prices is happening already.  Prices in Adler for apartments with western standards in the best locations are eclipsing levels in central Sochi.  

Brian Burke, Hockey Legend and N.H.L. General Manager, Visits Sochi

Brian Burke, the President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and General Manager of the U.S. Hockey team, visited Sochi on Saturday, April 28.  Mr. Burke planned on arriving in Sochi on Friday, the 27th, but due to fog his flight was diverted to Krasnodar. He waited all evening in the Krasnodar airport until the flight was cancelled at about 10 p.m.  Because his schedule is demanding and time was short, Mr. Burke caught a taxi and persuaded the driver to make the 6 hour trip overnight on the serpentine Black Sea route to Sochi.  He arrived at about 5 a.m. After a quick shower and cup of coffee, I showed him central Sochi, Adler and the Olympic Park before he departed for Sweden. When I asked him about staying in a hotel in Krasnodar, instead of driving all night to Sochi, he told me there was no assurance he would have been able to fly here the next day. This may have required him to cancel Sochi.  He said it was important to him to see the environment where players would be living and competing and that he could not speak credibly about it and the issues they would face unless he had been here.  It is not hard to see how his attention to detail and work ethic has led to so much success, both in the NHL and for the U.S Hockey team.  

Brian Burke was born in Providence, Rhode Island into a family that eventually included 10 children.  When he was about 11, the family moved to Edina, Minnesota.  In Minnesota, he received a late introduction to hockey, the sport that would dominate his life as a player, agent and eventual General Manager of the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks and currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Maple Leafs are one of the marquee franchises not only in hockey, but in all North American sports.  Remarkably, he is the first American-born G.M. of the Maple Leafs. Brian also was the General Manager of the U.S. men's hockey team that won a silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics.  He attended Providence College and Harvard Law, so his educational pedigree is as strong as his hockey background.  

Brian and I talked about the Olympic Park and the construction that Sochi is undergoing.  He noticed the numerous apartment buildings, road and street projects being constructed and we walked around the airport.  He told me that the Olympic Park and venues were "very impressive" and that the new airport is an excellent facility for an Olympic city.  He also told me that the overall changes that Sochi is undergoing are remarkable.  

The entrance to the Olympic stadium is only about 100 meters from the Black Sea, so we stopped there and took photos.