In Belarus, the fate of Khrushchyovkas has once again become a topic of discussion. Nasha Niva has collected examples of how they can be modernized.
Illustrative image. Photo: screenshot from Yandex Panorama
Khrushchyovkas can be extended up to seven floors
It was announced in Minsk that they would not copy the Moscow approach (where about eight thousand Khrushchyovkas are planned to be demolished by 2032), as it would simply not pay off due to the lower cost of Minsk land compared to Moscow.
According to Marina Yaromenko, an expert at the Housing Institute, comprehensive renovation is more appropriate in our case. This involves modernization, reconstruction of buildings with the addition of floors, and expansion of blocks.
This is not the same as a major overhaul.
Adding floors in Belarus has been permitted since 1997, but this practice has not gained much popularity during this time.
By law, floors can be added to old houses that originally had no more than five floors. Therefore, potentially almost every Brezhnevka or Khrushchyovka has a chance to get a new look and grow up to 7 floors.
The cost of building a square meter in mansard (attic) floors is lower than in a new house, which ultimately makes such apartments more affordable compared to housing in new buildings.
Minsk. Yanka Maur Street. Photo: screenshot from Yandex Panorama
Among the obvious disadvantages is the lack of an elevator. Theoretically, it can be installed, but it is not cheap, so residents of the mansard floor will have to walk up to their homes.
How to renovate a house and add floors?
To begin work on adding new floors, the developer must obtain consent from 2/3 of the building's residents. Mansard additions can only be made simultaneously with a major overhaul of the building. A house whose residents have agreed to the addition moves ahead of others in the renovation queue, which is ideally an important incentive for residents.
However, resistance from residents is considered one of the main reasons why mansard construction has not gained widespread popularity.
Residents can be understood, as they will have to live in construction conditions for a year to a year and a half. Most often, according to developers' observations, residents of the top floor object, as their apartments are often flooded during construction and reconstruction.
Illustrative photo: Nasha Niva
Investors motivate residents to agree to temporary inconveniences and the appearance of new neighbors by offering the same major overhaul that happens concurrently with the construction of new floors. Developers also cover the costs of utility services for the entire period of mansard construction.
According to specialists' calculations, as of 2015, there were 903 Khrushchyovkas in Minsk alone, whose technical condition of load-bearing structures allows for the construction of additional mansard floors.
Nevertheless, throughout the entire time, mansard floors have been added to only a few dozen houses across Belarus.
In the 2010s, most Khrushchyovkas with mansards appeared on Yanka Maur Street. There, a number of houses underwent renovation with the addition of extra floors over several years.
Renovated Khrushchyovka at Yanka Maur, 25. Photo: Alkor real estate agency
The renovated houses can hardly be called architectural masterpieces, but compared to the ordinary Khrushchyovkas nearby, they don't look worse.
Besides the block on Yanka Maur, individual Khrushchyovkas that have been extended upwards can be found in Minsk.
Such examples exist, for instance, at Nekrasova, 14 and Knorina, 15.
House at Nekrasova, 15. Photo: screenshot from Yandex Panorama
What's inside renovated Khrushchyovkas?
While the exterior of these apartments may not look exceptionally attractive, practice shows that owners find ways to create beauty in the mansard.
This is what one of the apartments at Yanka Maur, 25 looks like, which was sold this year for 206 thousand dollars.
Photo: Alkor real estate agency
Depending on the project, the added apartments can be either two-story or single-story.
In such apartments, most windows are mansard windows. Ceilings inside the apartment are high, with beams that are later used as a decorative element.
Besides Minsk, mansard floors have appeared on Khrushchyovkas in at least one building in Vitebsk, Gomel, and Grodno.
For example, the only Khrushchyovka with mansards in Grodno is located at Popovich Street, 48.
Photo: Real Estate Store real estate agency
An additional floor appeared here at the very beginning of the 2000s. And, as seen in other regional centers, similar practice has not yet caught on there.
How widespread can the addition of floors to Khrushchyovkas become?
The idea that Khrushchyovkas in Minsk, at least, should be rebuilt with an increase in the number of floors has been discussed many times in both the 2010s and 2020s, but the phenomenon has not become widespread.
However, it is quite possible that given the rising housing prices and the limited number of development sites in Minsk, 6-7-story Khrushchyovkas may start appearing more frequently.
However, another factor must be considered: a certain portion of Khrushchyovkas have recently undergone major renovations. Because of this, it is difficult to imagine that residents of these houses would agree to the addition of new floors and another year of living in construction conditions — essentially, solely for the sake of having additional neighbors.
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