Belgrade Waterfront

Belgrade Waterfront, known in Serbian as Belgrade on Water (Београд на води, romanized: Beograd na vodi), is an controversal urban renewal development project headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at improving Belgrade's cityscape and economy by revitalizing the Sava amphitheater, a neglected stretch of land on the right bank of the Sava river, between the Belgrade Fair and Branko's bridge. It was started in 2014 with the reconstruction of the Belgrade Cooperative building, which was finished in June of the same year. It is the second largest mixed use complex under construction in Europe, just after Minsk Mir (Minsk World) worth 3.5 billion dollars. 6.000 apartments, seven hotels including W Hotel and St Regis, 2000 offices, the largest shopping mall in South East Europe and public buildings are planned for the area.

Belgrade Waterfront
Београд на води
Beograd na vodi
Mock up of Belgrade Waterfront
General information
Town or cityBelgrade
CountrySerbia
Coordinates44°48′33.2″N 20°26′56.8″E
Construction started2014
Website
www.belgradewaterfront.com/en/

It was announced on 15 March 2015 that the Phase I apartments in BW Residences, a residential development, will be launched for sale. These two towers will each have around 20 floors, consisting of 296 apartment units, and construction started in October 2015.[1]

Overview

The project was initiated in 2014 between the Government of Serbia and Eagle Hills, a leading Abu Dhabi-based private investment and development company that is focused on the creation of new city hubs in high-growth international markets. Around €3.5 billion will be invested by the Serbian government and their Emirati partners. The project[2] includes office and luxury apartment buildings, Belgrade Park, Sava Promenada, five-star hotels, Belgrade Mall and Belgrade Tower, which will be the home to Serbia's first St Regis Hotel & St Regis Residences. Standing at 168 metres (551 ft),[3] this building is designed by the architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.[4]

Criticism

Among Belgrade residents, there is a great deal of contempt for the project. The points criticised encompass the lacking of a public consultation process as well as the disconnect of the lifestyle of Belgrade's middle and upper classes on one hand and the target group of the developed apartments on the other hand.[5] In addition to this, the intransparency and perceived backroom nature of the Belgrade Waterfront deal has caused real anger, expressed most visibly by the street protests organised by the movement Do not let Belgrade d(r)own, accusing the development of money laundering and corruption.[6][7]

In May 2016, thousands of people went on the street to protest against an incident where dozens of men with masks demolished buildings in the area, where the Belgrade Waterfront complex is planned to be built. Contrasting the allegations of the protesters, the government denies any responsibility in and knowledge of the event.[8][9]

First phase
Belgrade Waterfront scale model, exposed in the building of Belgrade Cooperative

Currently, there are 10 buildings and a shopping mall under construction or finished, including:

Finished
  • BW Residences – Two residential towers located on Sava river bank. 20 stories each, with 296 apartments in total. Construction was started on 27 September 2015 and completed in 2018.[10][11]
  • BW Parkview – 23 stories high residential building with 244 units. Construction was started in December 2016.[12][13]
  • BW Vista – 23 stories high residential building with 228 units. Construction was started in December 2016.[14][15]
  • BW Galerija — Shopping mall with 93,000 m². Construction was started on 26 March 2018.
  • BW Magnolia — 5 stories residential building with 110 units. Construction was started in 2018.[16]

Under construction
  • Belgrade Tower — Known as Kula Beograd. Residential and commercial tower with a hotel with a height of 168 metres. George J. Efstathiou of the Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is the tower main architect.[6] St. Regis Belgrade Hotel and St. Regis Residences will have 190 hotel rooms and 220 residences and will be 42 stories heigh.[17] Once it is finished it will be the highest skyscraper in Serbia. Construction was started on 15 April 2016.[18][19]
  • BW Arcadia – Residential building with 244 apartments. Construction started in 2018, estimated completion date 2021.[20]
  • BW Aurora – Residential and commercial tower with a height of 82 metres. 24 stories high, with 244 apartments. Construction started in 2018.[21]
  • BW Metropolitan — Residential building with 325 apartments, restaurants and kindergarten. Started in 2019.[22]
  • BW Terraces – Residential building expected to start in 2020.[23]

Planned
  • BW Aria - Residential building expected to start in 2020.[24]
  • BW Central – Expected to start in 2020. First office building, next to hotel Bristol.
  • BW Terra – Residential building expected to start in 2020.[23]
  • W Hotel Belgrade - Construction starts until the end of 2020.

See also

References
  1. "Beograd na vodi" na predstavljanju u Kanu Aktuelno.net 2015-03-10
  2. "Belgrade Waterfront". Eagle Hills. 2017-03-23.
  3. "Kula Belgrade". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  4. "UAE firm to develop Belgrade Waterfront project". Khaleej Times. AFP. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  5. "Belgrade's 'top-down' gentrification is far worse than any cereal cafe". The Guardian. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  6. "Belgrade Waterfront: an unlikely place for Gulf petrodollars to settle". The Guardian. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  7. MacDowall, Andrew (11 April 2016). "Belgrade Waterfront plan raises Serbian ire". Financial Times. Belgrade. BIRN. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  8. Dragojlo, Sasa (12 May 2016). "Serbian Protesters Say Authorities Were Behind Demolitions". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. "Belgrade mayor "won't resign over 50 people protesting"". B 92. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  10. "Belgrade Waterfront – BW Residences Apartments". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  11. "Belgrade Waterfront počinje gradnju stanova". belgradewaterfront.com (in Serbian). 27 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  12. "BW Parkview – Urbani Način Života Okružen Prirodom U Okviru Belgrade Waterfront-a". belgradewaterfront.com (in Serbian). 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  13. "Belgrade Waterfront – BW Parkview Apartments". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  14. "BW Vista, nova prilika za stanovanje u srcu Belgrade Waterfront-a". belgradewaterfront.com (in Serbian). 7 December 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  15. "Belgrade Waterfront – BW Vista Apartments". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  16. "BW Galerija has it all". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  17. "Hotelski lanac St. Regis imaće 220 stanova i 190 soba u Kuli Beograd - Otvaranje prvih rezidencijalnih apartmana do 2020". ekapija.com (in Serbian). 19 November 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  18. "Počela izgradnja Kule Beograd, obeležja Belgrade Waterfront-a". belgradewaterfront.com (in Serbian). 15 April 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  19. "THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS BELGRADE". belgradewaterfront.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  20. "Belgrade Waterfront – BW Arcadia Apartments". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  21. "Belgrade Waterfront – BW Aurora Apartments". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  22. https://www.belgradewaterfront.com/en/properties/bw-metropolitan/
  23. BW Terraces
  24. "BELGRADE WATERFRONT - BW ARIA". belgradewaterfront.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
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