The first works in Vitebsk's "Chagall Quarter" will begin in 2014

Vitebsk closed joint-stock company "Udarnik" plans to build a new hotel complex along with a cultural and wellness center near Pokrovskaya Street in Zadvine in the near future.

In the absence of interest from foreign investors, domestic businessmen are ready to develop one of the most promising urban areas in terms of tourist potential, conditionally named "Shagalovsky Quarter".

As reported to "VV" by the director of CJSC Vladimir Shpak, two buildings with a total area of 500 sq. m at the very beginning of Revolyutsionnaya Street will be reconstructed for tourist infrastructure facilities. The hotel is intended to be created in a three-story building, the number of rooms in it will not exceed 20. The cultural and wellness complex will include a cafeteria, which can accommodate up to 15 visitors at a time, a small conference hall, several office premises, as well as a range of wellness and recreation services, including a sauna and billiards. A guarded parking lot is planned to be equipped next to the complex. To solve the overall task of creating high-class hotel services, it is planned to involve all available auxiliary premises in the buildings in operation.

The reconstruction of the buildings will be carried out in the style of pre-revolutionary Vitebsk development, emphasized Vladimir Shpak. It is important that the project organically fits into the architectural space of the adjacent territories, taking into account the prospective task of recreating the historical environment of the late 19th – early 20th centuries near the Mark Chagall Memorial House-Museum on Pokrovskaya Street. The financing of the works will be carried out at the expense of CJSC "Udarnik"'s own funds, the planned investment volume is currently being calculated.

The reconstruction is planned to begin in 2014. For now, the pre-project stage has been completed, and permission for research and design work has been obtained from the Ministry of Culture. The design will be carried out by CJSC "CityArtService" under the leadership of Evgeny Kolbovich.

It should be added that the creation of the "Chagall Quarter" involves the reconstruction of a mixed-use urban area of the 18th-19th centuries, covering approximately 50 hectares, located between the railway station and the Western Dvina River. In addition to organizing museum and art institutions for exhibitions and plein-air events, the project includes the development of residential, commercial, and recreational zones, as well as the construction of new and the recreation of historical objects for various functional purposes.

Sergey Kochetov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"