Why Winter Doesn't Stop Residents from Walking in New Developments

Winter Demand

Modern buyers expect active community life to continue even with the onset of cold weather. As Dmitry Yefremov, Head of Product Management and Marketing Research at Glavstroy Saint Petersburg, emphasized, demand is shifting towards all-season landscaping — spaces must remain functional, safe, and visually attractive year-round.

First and foremost, basic scenarios are in demand: illuminated and regularly cleared pedestrian routes, safe playgrounds with rubberized surfaces, and comfortable outdoor zones. This allows residents, especially those with children, to walk any time of year.

— The visual component plays a separate role, — he added. — Buyers increasingly expect a «winter atmosphere» in courtyards — with festive lighting, decorative installations, and seasonal elements like ice slides. Emotional perception of the environment is becoming an important part of a project«s value.

Maxim Zhabin, Development Director at Edino Group, noted that choosing a lifestyle over just square meters has been a trend for a whole decade. People increasingly vote for the «courtyard-park» format, where natural surroundings, silence, and a sense of peace come first. In modern residential quarters, tranquility is becoming a new luxury. At the same time, the environment must be safe and pedestrian-friendly, with clear zoning for children and adults.

— Winter in this context ceases to be a time of «waiting it out,» — he says. — Buyers want to walk, play sports, and spend time with family and neighbors without going far from home. In our projects, such as Tishin and LesART, we build in this philosophy from the start: the cold season is not a pause in life, but a full-fledged part of the annual scenario.

— Demand has shifted towards active yet comfortable leisure near home, — confirmed Ekaterina Ulyanova, Marketing and Product Director at GloraX. — Therefore, clients prefer projects where the courtyard and adjacent area function in winter: safe walking routes with cozy lighting, multifunctional areas, and places for socializing and celebrations.

Instead of an isolated apartment, what«s important now is a living space where the courtyard and infrastructure encourage communication and activities all year round, noted Natalya Rubezhanskaya, Head of the Residential Real Estate Product Department at A101 Group.

— Residents need comfortable conditions for activity and walks year-round, regardless of the weather, — agreed Pavel Melnikov, Project Development Director at Setl Group. — Even in the cold season, people want to be able to go out for fresh air, walk in the courtyard, and spend time with neighbors in cozy public spaces.

Standard for Cold Weather

According to Dmitry Yefremov, the basic set of winter landscaping features relates to safety, accessibility, and comfort. Key elements include:

• systematic snow removal and anti-icing treatment of pedestrian routes, entrance areas, parking lots, and children«s and sports zones;
• use of frost-resistant and non-slip coatings: rubber crumb, specialized paving tiles;
• high-quality all-season lighting of the territory;
• wind-protected spaces — canopies, awnings, semi-open zones.

Year-round sports facilities are also becoming increasingly important, for example, multifunctional areas that in winter can be used for hockey or active games.

Maxim Zhabin agreed that today«s »minimum« is, first and foremost, safety and accessibility. — The main winter challenge is snow and ice, and it is here that the quality of design and the work of the management company is manifested, — he says. — In Edino Group projects, basic issues are solved systematically. Territories are designed so that machinery can effectively drive through, and complex zones are processed manually.

— If we talk about winter leisure, Setl Group implements different formats in its residential complexes, — said Pavel Melnikov. — For example, in the Senate residential complex, there«s an ice rink for skating and playing hockey. In the Paradny Ensemble, a parade park is provided where in winter one can organize a route with decorative lighting for ice skating.

According to Natalya Rubezhanskaya, the standard «minimum» includes safe and clean car-free courtyards with quality landscaping, lighting, and cleared paths, basic all-season sports grounds, and New Year decorations. However, in highly competitive conditions, this is no longer enough, and decisive advantages become multifunctional outdoor spaces with pre-installed utilities.

Ekaterina Ulyanova added that the minimum for a developer today is safe and properly lit routes throughout the complex, zones for active games, everyday sports elements, and resting places. — We approach the latter taking into account the specifics of the St. Petersburg climate and the long winter period, — she says.

Turning Winter into an Advantage

Dmitry Yefremov identified two key groups of competitive «winter» elements in new projects — infrastructure solutions and event components. The first includes all-season multifunctional spaces, for example, covered club zones with panoramic glazing. The second group is the organization of events: joint winter activities, sports competitions, children«s holidays, and New Year events.

— Today, projects where winter doesn«t look like a forced compromise are winning, — continued Maxim Zhabin. — In Tishin, for example, the ice arena in winter turns into a family skating rink or a hockey box, and in summer — into a sports ground. Another important element we plan to implement in the Tishin residential complex is a natural ice rink.

— Even at the product development stage, we plan for a courtyard territory and project landscaping adaptive to the winter period, — said Ekaterina Ulyanova. — For example, in absolutely every one of our projects, we implement a small event square with a mature spruce in the center — for holding holidays in the courtyard and creating a New Year atmosphere.

— One of today«s strong competitive advantages is opportunities for forming neighborhood communities, — believes Pavel Melnikov. — Setl Group places »Setl Community« centers in its residential complexes — these are neighborliness centers for residents, where one can meet neighbors, socialize, or do sports or creative activities.

Weather is No Obstacle

St. Petersburg winter is characterized by high variability: sharp temperature swings, wind, precipitation, and short daylight hours. According to Dmitry Yefremov, all these factors must be considered during design. Lighting plays a key role — both functional and decorative. The second important aspect is protection from wind and dampness through landscape solutions, canopies, and dense plantings.

The peculiarity of St. Petersburg lies in adaptation to its specific climate: slush, wind, and lack of light. As noted by Natalya Rubezhanskaya, this requires using especially durable materials, designing warm entrances, and emphasizing street lighting. Correctly designed landscaping also performs a wind-protection function.

— St. Petersburg weather is not about extremes, but about duration: darkness, wind, humidity, — added Maxim Zhabin. — Therefore, here compact routes, wind protection, multi-level lighting, and a sense of security are especially important.

Atmosphere of a Winter Holiday

Winter holidays in new residential complexes are increasingly built around the concept of a «New Year atmosphere». Dmitry Yefremov emphasized that unified territory design plays an important role — light decor, thematic installations, garlands. No less important is infrastructure for events: neighborhood centers and public spaces where residents can gather by interest.

— Winter holidays are the moment when the territory truly «comes to life,» — says Maxim Zhabin. — We try to create points of attraction around which traditions form. The New Year tree becomes the center of the holiday, and decorated boulevard sections become a space for meetings and emotions.

— During New Year holidays, community centers are especially in demand — an obligatory part of GloraX«s concept for forming a neighborhood community, — said Ekaterina Ulyanova. — They serve as cozy spaces for holding film screenings, board game evenings, and master classes, contributing to strengthening neighborly bonds.