Five of the most promising construction areas of Europe

Despite the General recovery of the real estate market in the Eurozone the major cities of Europe have again become popular among investors from abroad, but to find a suitable object for investments are not so simple. Often the possibilities of construction, especially in the Central areas of such cities is limited and new objects sold out before construction is completed. In this situation it is necessary to pay attention to development projects in former industrial areas.

“Tranio” offers a look at five promising emerging quarters of London, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin and Hamburg — in the next decade they could become the new business and cultural centers of Europe. Participation in the construction of new facilities at these locations attractive for investors due to the prospects of economic growth in these cities, the high demand for and the liquidity of objects and increase their profitability.

London and Paris are in the top six most attractive cities in the world from an investment point of view. According to the report of the JLL Globalisation and Competition: The New World of Cities according to the amount of funds invested in commercial property, London is ranked first in the world, and Paris, who lost the prizes of new York and Tokyo, took the fourth position.

In addition to the long outstanding leaders in London and Paris, are developing and new markets. According to the PwC report Emerging Trends in Real Estate: Europe 2015 Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen are among the ten most promising European cities for real estate investment. They occupy respectively the first, fourth and seventh place in the ranking. JLL analysts also note the greater attractiveness of these cities for business in General and for real estate investment in particular.

Battersea (Battersea), London, UK

Project cost: 11.4 billion Euro

Project completion: 2026

The project of reconstruction of Battersea power station and nine Elms

Built in 30-ies of the last century, the Battersea power station located on the South Bank of the Thames in the heart of nine Elms (Nine Elms), South-West London. Reconstruction of the station, and adjacent territories will become the biggest construction project in the history of modern London.

The construction will be completed in 2026. According to the plans of the consortium of the Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC), which was set up by investors specifically for project management, the upgrade will apply not only to the former power station, but the adjacent area of 16 hectares.

The industrial monument of the first half of the twentieth century will be turned into a cultural, entertainment and business center of the district.

In 2015, the reconstruction of the station

For the renewal of surrounding areas meets the famous architectural firm of Frank Gehry (Frank Gehry). Here will be built a residential complex of 1, 305 apartments as well as hotel with a Fund of 160 rooms and dozens of restaurants and shops. Total area of offices that will appear in Battersea, will amount to 116 thousand sq m (in the building of the plant will be only 44 thousand sq. m of office space).

The cost of the project will amount to 11.4 billion euros (8 billion British pounds). The main investors are the Malaysian investment funds and construction companies Bernard S P Setia, Sime Darby Property and Employees Provident Fund. The cost of apartments in the residential complex will be from 547 thousand to 20 million euros.

Norhaus (Nordhavn) In Copenhagen, Denmark

Project completion: 2025

Construction site project Norhan from the height of bird flight

Norhan is a coastal district of Copenhagen, which until recently was the marine cargo port. In 2009 began the reconstruction of this industrial array with an area of 200 hectares, and soon there will be a new neighborhood that includes both residential and commercial properties.

The first apartments were put into operation already in 2015. Final project completion is scheduled for 2025, when it will be put into operation artificial Peninsula with new buildings and a port for cruise ships.

Total area of residential premises in Nordaune will be 165 thousand sq. m of commercial buildings is 140 thousand sq. m. it is Assumed that the area will accommodate 40 thousand people, which will create the same number of jobs.

The Copenhagen UN Nordaune

In addition to commercial and residential properties in Nordaune already constructed a building for the Copenhagen UN.

Norhan rekonstruiruet state company CPH City & Port Development, which is 95 % owned by the authorities of Copenhagen and 5% to the Kingdom of Denmark. At the same time, construction of some objects attracted private investors, for example, a construction company PKA from Denmark.

Le GRU (Les Groues), Paris, France

Completion: 2020-2030

In the vicinity of La défense (La Defense), the most successful business area of Paris is almost no available sites that could be reconstructed. The exception is the quarter of Le GRU is located 11 km North-West of the centre of the French capital. Now it is mostly built with industrial facilities, but by 2020 it is expected construction of buildings with total area of 630 thousand square meters, of which 200 thousand will be allocated for the new offices.

Reconstruction of the district of Le GRU will be a continuation of the development of the business district of La défense

Project manages the state Fund EPADESA (Établissement public d L aménagement de la Défense Seine Arche).

According to preliminary estimates, the population of the area will be 10 thousand people, as many will create jobs. The development of Le GRU will contribute to the opening of a new metro station. The exact project cost is not yet known.

Europe City (EuropaCity), Berlin, Germany

Project completion: 2025

The new district EuropaCity will be located near Berlin Central station

Along Heidestrasse (Heidestraße), to the North from the newly built Berlin Central station, the reconstruction of the area, called EuropaCity. 2025 in this area of 40 hectares will be built residential, office, retail and leisure facilities, including a bridge over the canal in Spandau (Spandau) and the new headquarters of the company Total.

In one of the business centers Europacity will open a new office of the French oil company Total

The design of housing and other infrastructure of the area will be engaged in architectural Bureau ASTOC Architects from Cologne, and here the already existing galleries and museums will be United under one roof in the new cultural center Kunst-Campus.

The building owners are German developer CA Immo Deutschland GmbH, Berlin authorities and the main railway operator Germany Deutsche Bahn AG.

Hafen City (HafenCity) In Hamburg, Germany

Cost: 10.9 billion euros

Conclusion: 2025-2030 years.

The construction plan of the district of Hafen

Hafen is a quarter of the Central district Hamburg Mitte (Mitte), located on several Islands in the estuary of the river Elbe (Elbe). Since the XIX century this area was a port, but in 1997 the city authorities decided to transform it into a modern residential and business center.

The project was started in 2000. In order to place in the Hafen seven thousand residential and commercial buildings for 14 million residents and 45 thousand jobs, had to expand the initially allotted for building a territory by 40% to 157 ha.

In addition to the new buildings in Hafen city already equipped quays with a total length of 10.5 km, and 28 hectares of parks, squares and pedestrian areas.

The concert hall project Elbe Philharmonic hall

Today in the Hafen completed construction of 57 objects, among which the environmentally friendly residential complex Elbe Arcades and the HafenCity University. 50 objects, including two parks and the Elbe Philharmonic hall (Elbphilarmonie) will be commissioned before 2030.

A project led by HafenCity Hamburg GmbH. Involved in the project 10.9 billion euros of investment 8.5 billion was received from private investors, another 2.5 billion from the state, including in the form of proceeds from land sales.

The cost of real estate already built objects Hafen city is from 2 to 10 850 thousand Euro per sq m and more.

Major projects reconstruction of entire areas really are a rarity on the market, and they are always many stages of approvals, but most importantly, painstakingly calculated from the point of view of investment attractiveness, so the fact the beginning of the reconstruction of this area is already a positive signal for the investor. Another important feature of such large projects is that the new residents of the area not only get housing, but are also created jobs, enjoy the local shopping and entertainment facilities, that is, in the new district essentially creates a micro market with new supply and demand.

Julia Morozova

Project Manager of Department of investments and capital markets Tranio.Ru

Ivan Chepizhko, “Tranio”