A Norwegian investor is defying his hometown’s oil crisis with plans to develop two large office and retail buildings with parking facilities in the heart of Stavanger. Knut Øgreid’s real estate firm hopes to start construction next year.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that Øgreid, who made his fortune in lumber, real estate and the sale of BMWs, is likely to invest more than NOK 1 billion in the project. “This is a building for the future,” Thomas Middelthon, marketing chief at Øgreid Eiendom, told DN.
Øgreid bought up the properties in the area known as Ankerkvartalet and hired Oslo-based architect firm Snøhetta to design the new buildings, which will consist of around 20,ooo square meters each. The project reportedly is the largest planned for downtown Stavanger in several decades.
The search is on for major tenants, with Middelthon claiming there’s been a lack of large modern office space in the highly central area. Øgreid Eiendom plans to embark on the project alone, with conventional bank financing.
newsinenglish.no staff