– Just look around us, says CEO of OBOS, Daniel Kjørberg Siraj. He stands in Pilestredet park, the OBOS project where 1,500 homes replaced the old Rikshospitalet in central Oslo. – I think people perceive this as a good urban area to live in. – But Pilestredet park would not have been possible with the new municipal plan, says Siraj. PILESTREDET PARK: According to OBOS, the project would have had too high a utilization to be approved with the proposed plan. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news – Unstable housing market OBOS is one of 24 large developers sounding the alarm. They slaughter the proposal for a new plan, which was on consultation until Christmas. The municipal plan states how much, how high and how close it can be built in various places in the city until 2040. The developers’ biggest concern is that the possibilities for new construction will be tightened altogether. “The consequence of a low rate of housing construction over time is even higher housing prices and an unstable housing market,” the statement says. These are behind the criticism 24 developers have written under the joint consultation statement: OBOS Stor-Oslo Eiendom JM Norge AF Eiendom HAV Eiendom Selvaag Bolig Nordr Skanska Eiendomsutvikling Solon Eiendom KLP Eiendom Neptune Properties USBL Fredensborg Bolig Agate Utvikling Møller Eiendom Storebrand Eiendom Union Gruppen Mustad Eiendom Løvenskiold Eiendom Avantor Eiendomsspar Bane Nor Eiendom Økern Sentrum ANS Scandinavian Development Will build higher and denser – If we are to build a city that people can afford to live in, enough housing must be built. Then there is no use with a plan that facilitates fewer homes, says the OBOS boss. – What is the problem? – You press down both building heights and utilization. And you put in so many detailed requirements that it becomes almost impossible to get them to go together, says Daniel Siraj. The 24 developers highlight several projects that would either have been greatly reduced or not built at all with the new plan. Among the examples are Kværnerbyen and Munch Brygge in Bjørvika. Munch Brygge won Oslo City’s architecture award for 2020. MUNCH BRYGGE: Such a high utilization would not have been allowed with the proposed plan, according to the developers. Photo: Lund+Slaatto Arkitekter Fewer homes on Bryn According to the home builders, the new plan will have major consequences for projects that are on the drawing board. JM Norge has looked in particular at its plans around the public transport hub at Bryn. JM CEO: Hilde Vatne is managing director of JM Norway. Photo: JM Norge / Anne Helene Gjelstad – If the new plan is implemented, it will reduce the potential for housing by a third. – This means that we start from approx. 600 to 400 homes compared to the existing plan, says managing director Hilde Vatne. She believes the biggest challenge with the plan is this: – It does not make it possible for growth in the number of inhabitants to be met with a corresponding increase in the number of homes. The JM manager points out that the housing deficit in Oslo has built up over several years. And the imbalance has become greater during the expensive period. – Right now we are in a situation where we builders hardly start anything. A continued low supply and eventually high demand will push prices up, says Hilde Vatne. BRYN: JM Norge and Entra Eiendom are planning a large-scale residential and commercial development at Bryn, where JM is responsible for the residential part. Illustration: Visulent/Rodeo – As expected – The criticism from the builders is as expected, says MDG leader Arild Hermstad. He is a former urban development councilor in Oslo and the person who put the matter out for consultation. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Arild Hermstad (MDG) put the proposal for a new municipal plan out for consultation in June. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB – They are interested in getting as many housing units as possible and the greatest possible sales profit on their projects. – Oslo’s population, both those who live here now and those who will move into the new homes, are interested in good living environments and high quality in the projects, he says. Arild Hermstad also does not buy the claim that fewer homes will be built. He says that there will be greater flexibility on heights, but also less room for builders to negotiate for increased building heights. – It can open up faster processes, he says. – Nobody is asking for more floors. The developers will therefore build higher and denser. In the statement, they specify that there is no contradiction between high utilization of the plots and good quality, which is therefore a matter of divided opinion. – But don’t you always want to build higher and denser to make the most money possible? – The aim is not to make as much money as possible. For us at OBOS, the most important thing is to provide enough homes for our members, says CEO Daniel Siraj. He reminds us that there is only one group of actors whose main purpose is to push up housing construction. They are the ones who build the homes. – If we are not the voice that points out that enough housing should be built, then who will? – I still have the benefit of seeing a politician or a neighborhood group asking us to add a floor or two to a housing project so that the city will get enough housing, says the OBOS boss. 500 consultation responses City Development Council James Stove Lorentzen (H) says that the city council also aims to regulate and build more housing. 500 ANSWERS: City Development Councilor James Stove Lorentzen will during the spring go through the statements to the plan his predecessor submitted for consultation. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news – Then we must have a municipal plan that builds up under that, he says. The Planning and Building Agency and its city council department will now go through nearly 500 consultation responses in the further work on the plan. – If we are to succeed, the municipality and the major players must have a good dialogue. We will listen to what they have to say, ask questions and dig, and then we will see what we end up with, says James Stove Lorentzen.
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Fewer new homes and higher house prices in Oslo with the new municipal plan, developers fear – Greater Oslo
