Land Surveying for Construction of a Shopping Center

The survey is carried out to determine the technical feasibility of the construction of a shopping center within specified parameters on the preselected land plot and the investment potential of the future project, considering land plot capabilities, costs of utility connection, assessment of risks in the course of construction and operation. The survey results are arranged into a report which allows the investor to make a final decision on the choice of the construction site and the beginning of the designing (construction) of a shopping center.

A model plan and structure of the report on the land surveying for the construction of a shopping center:

1. Graphic presentation of the land site marking all existing infrastructure and architectural details.

  • Location of the land site on the city map or Google maps, indicating the city center, the main thoroughfares and dormitory areas.
  • Photographic materials – pictures of the land site and adjoining roads, interchanges, utilities infrastructure, with commentaries.
  • The scheme of the land plot with plotted points of the photographs taken.
  • Zoning determination and description of the type of permitted use of the land plot.
  • Description of the architectural restrictions for the land plot.
  • Red (building) lines.
  • Right-of-ways and roadsides of railways and motor roads.
  • Edges of the sanitary-hygienic zones.
  • Edges of the coastal (near-shore, riverside) strips and water protection zones.
  • Boundaries of the land plots subject to seizure for state programs.
  • Availability of road shoulders.
  • Any zones of influence from airports and helipads.
  • Close proximity to nursery and daycare facilities, comprehensive schools and institutions of higher education.
  • Close proximity to significant religious and cultural sites.
  • Description of the land plot type specifying the factors influencing construction costs (listed below until the end of section 1).
  • Changes in topography of the area.
  • Any steep slopes and ravines on the site and in the immediate vicinity of the site.
  • Any rivers, streams or springs on the site and in the immediate vicinity of the site.
  • Any access roads, driveways, parking lots in the construction zone.
  • Any engineering structures and utility lines on the site.
  • Any power lines, power line off-limits zones, high-voltage cables, communication lines, main pipelines.
  • Any storehouses of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, oil and oil products, gas-filling stations, automobile LPG filling stations and automobile filling stations with underground and overground tanks, storehouses of combustible liquids, fuels and lubricants.

2. Report on the preliminary operating loads considering the existing engineering capacities (preliminary and estimated loads – exact loads are determined in the course of designing a shopping center).

  • Electric power
  • Water supply
  • Sewerage
  • Water consumption for fire extinguishing needs
  • Rainwater disposal
  • Central heating consumption capacity
  • Annual gas volume

3. Description of the options for connection to the existing utility systems and evaluation of the conditions and costs of the connection.

  • Clarifying the options for connection to the water supply and sewerage networks. Determining the length of the lines and costs of engineering connection (possible connection points and possible lines are indicated on Google maps or the general site plan).
  • Clarifying the options for connection to the rainwater disposal networks. Determining the length of the lines and costs of engineering connection (possible connection points and possible lines are indicated on Google maps or the general site plan).
  • Clarifying the options for connection to the power supply networks. Determining the length of the lines and costs of engineering connection (possible connection points and possible lines are indicated on Google maps or the general site plan).
  • Clarifying the options for connection to the gas supply networks – according to the above plan.
  • Clarifying the options for connection to the heat supply networks – according to the above plan.
  • The list of supplying organizations, services and networks with contact details of the persons in charge that provided the preliminary terms of connection to the utility supply networks.

4. Survey of the existing transport infrastructure and its possible development and adoption for the needs of a shopping center.

  • Determining the category of adjacent roads and whether there are any interchanges, crossroads with and without traffic lights, U-turns, restrictions on motor car and truck traffic.
  • Proposals for possible traffic schemes for the period of operation of the shopping center outside the land site.
  • Description of the estimated car and truck traffic from and to the city center, arrangement of driveways to the land site, requirements for the construction of speeding-up and slowing-down lanes, interchanges, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights.

5. Engineering surveys  necessary to determine if the land site is suitable for the planning and construction of a shopping center:

  • Topographical
  • Geological
  • Ecological
  • Hydrogeological

6. Addenda: Certificates, Reports and Contracts.

  • The layout of the given land plot with the marked boundaries of the adjacent land plots (the cadastral plan of the territory).
  • Town-planning certificate.
  • Information from the Department of Architecture on the zoning and the permitted type of use of the given land plot.
  • Information from the Department of Architecture on any registered sanitary-hygienic zones located on the given land plot.
  • Information from the Rospotrebnadzor Department on any registered sanitary-hygienic zones.
  • Information from the Inspectorate Department for the Protection of Monuments of Cultural and Historical Heritage on the absence of any monuments of cultural and historical heritage on the land site.
  • Information about the category of water bodies located near or on the land plot, and any restrictions on the construction related to these water bodies.
  • Information on the 1%-occurrence in case water bodies are located near the land plot.
  • Information on any mineral reserves present.
  • Information on any plantation present.
  • Information from the owner of the roads located near the land site on the categories of the roads and possible construction restrictions.
  • Information on the regional standards for the number of parking spaces.
  • Engineering connection contracts, technical specifications, statements (letters) on the possibility of connecting the site to the utility systems and networks.
  • Reports on the meetings with the representatives of municipal and federal authorities, supplying network organizations.
  • Copies of written requests submitted to the municipal and federal authorities and copies of the answers received.