Milanosesto transforms industrial heritage into future city

By Courtney Rivera 30/07/2026 2 min read 29 views

Rising from the silence of a long-abandoned steelworks on the north-eastern edge of Milan, MilanoSesto is reshaping European expectations of what urban regeneration can achieve. Covering more than 1.5 million square metres, the site occupies the footprint of the historic Falck Steelworks of Sesto San Giovanni, which ceased production in the 1990s. It is Italy’s largest urban regeneration project and one of the most ambitious on the continent.

A masterplan designed by international architecture firm Support + Partners guides the development, which is championed by global real estate firm Hines alongside institutional partners COIMA SGR, Redo SGR, and Prelios SGR. The project is being delivered in phases across more than a decade. The greater Milan metropolitan region continues its transformation as a benchmark for European urban development.

A New City Built on Old Steel

The former Falck Steelworks played a defining role in Italy’s 20th-century industrial identity. Its closure left behind a physical and social void for the municipality of Sesto San Giovanni. The ambition here has never been merely to fill that void with buildings, but to create a genuinely new piece of city.

The Support + Partners masterplan focuses on social connectivity. New squares, an ecological boulevard, and a vast 45-hectare urban park weave through the development, ensuring no building stands in isolation. Existing industrial structures are being repurposed rather than demolished. The long OMEC warehouse is being reimagined as a food market, and the historic Treno Laminatoio steel shed is being reborn as a wellness and sport facility.

“MilanoSesto will serve as a shining example of our concept of sustainable real estate development for the long term, with the goal of providing a positive impact at a local and national level,” said Mario Abbadessa, Senior Managing Director & Country Head at Hines Italy.

Unione Zero Sets the Standard

The Unione Zero lot represents the first privately funded phase, covering approximately 250,000 square metres of above and below-ground space. Four leading Italian architecture studios were entrusted with the seven buildings currently under development.

ACPV is designing the 48,000 m² office tower housing Intesa Sanpaolo headquarters and a 301-room hotel. Park Associati is handling student accommodation for about 700 residents. Barreca & La Varra is creating the affordable housing component with 285 apartments. Scandurra Studio Architettura is developing free-market residential units comprising 480 apartments.

The office tower is a 17-storey structure targeted at LEED and WELL certification. It will accommodate approximately 2,000 workers. Its design reduces CO2 emissions through renewable energy procurement and auto-production. The wider Unione Zero energy strategy is projected to avoid the release of 5,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually compared with conventional building standards.

The project’s sustainability framework responds to nine of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals.