The Construction Department completed over one million square meters of living space last year compared to around 600,000 sq m in 1992.
Officials say that the construction output -- which dropped off sharply after 1991 -- has been boosted by a gradual transfer of funding from the state coffers to the private sector.
But the cost of real estate in St Petersburg is well below the average in Russia ($350 per square meter rather than $450) and a fraction of property prices in Moscow (which average $930/sq m).
Vladimir Zheliostov, head of the Construction Department, said the city authorities now provided engineering services to prepare sites earmarked for redevelopment.
The construction projects themselves were financed from private capital -- "by individuals who understand what kind of housing the market needs better than the officials," he added.
Mr Zheliostov pointed towards the sharp decrease in the number of panel apartment blocks being built in the city.
He explained, "We don't have the money to build these blocks which are extremely expensive to heat." He said there were currently around 8,000 construction firms operating in St Petersburg while, in 1991, the housing sector had been dominated by 112 giant corporations.
He said the city authorities still had a long way to go. "We have inherited an enormous number of complex problems, including the need to reconstruct about 15 million square meters of residential space in central St Petersburg -- where half of the communal flats are located."
The city will have also to deal with about 8 million square meters of "khrushchevka" -- rough-and-ready buildings constructed in the Krushchev era with a life expectancy of 20 years.
About 500,000 city residents (10% of the population) now live in such blocks. (SPP)
Housing investment has doubled over the past four years