SNS in running for Copenhagen waterfront project

SNS Property Finance of the Netherlands is vying to become a financial partner of the Marmormolen development on the waterfront in Copenhagen, Karl-Gustav Jensen, CEO of City & Port Development told PropertyEU on Wednesday. The warehouse pier is to be transformed into a major mixed-use project.

Jensen told the ULI/PropertyEU Master Class Waterfront during the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam that the centerpiece of the project will be a 45,000 m² UN office building. There will be two high-rise towers and a total of 105,000 m² of residential, office and hotel space. City & Port Development is a joint venture between the city of Copenhagen and the Danish state.

Jensen said that the towers will reach a height of 140 metres and will be on opposite sides of water. The buildings will be linked via a pedestrian passage situated at an height of 65 metres in order to allow ferries to pass underneath.

City & Port Development is running the competition to pick a developer and financial partner for the project which was designed by two Dutch architects. Construction is due to start in 2010. 'We expect a deal to be sealed this month or next. In fact, I have a meeting with SNS Property Finance next week,' Jensen said.

SNS Property Finance has teamed up with Nordkranen, a Danish development company led by Dan Petersen, for the bid to take part in the 50/50 private-public partnership for the project. 'Only by forming this public-private companies you can ensure that the parties involved pursue the same goals,' Jensen said.

Jensen said that Dutch property group Bouwfonds is in the running for another 'very large' redevelopment project in the city, near the headquarters of a Danish broadcasting group.