Restoration of Petrovsky Palace

[mastodon]

for those of you unfamiliar with the palace, it was a stop over in moscow for when the tsar was visiting. in the 18th century the capitol was moved to st. petersburg. monarchs returned to visit the old capitol and stayed in this palace. napolean even stayed here a few nights when retreating after his failed invasion.[/quote]
Moscow picks up tab for Petrovsky Palace restoration

Howard Gethin / Rupron.ru

The Moscow City Government will foot the $40 million bill for restoring the unique Petrovsky Palace, after prolonged talks with potential investors failed to find a compromise between preservation and development of the site.

City Hall plans to restore the palace, located on Leningradsky Prospekt just north of Dynamo metro station, and turn it into a small hotel and venue for official receptions.

Negotiations had been underway for some time with potential investors from France, Germany and the USA, according to Alexei Kurrenoi, Deputy Head of the Architectural Planning Department.
The price for their investment, however, was permission to build a 200-bedroom five-star hotel next to the palace, which would have contravened federal planning laws.

With no suitable source of outside investment in sight, the only option was for City Hall to take on the project itself. Around $5 million has been spent so far on the restoration, which began around two years ago. The main building is due to be completed next year.