Agreement on premises for a modern library

Major investment in the development of Hafnarfjörður's town centre

An agreement between 220 Fjarðar and the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður was signed recently, under which the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður will be offered 1,200-1,500 m² for lease or purchase.² Accommodation for a new library in a new city centre hub, which will be built at 26-30 Strandgata and connected to the existing shopping centre at 13-15 Fjarðargata.

The investment company 220 Fjörður intends to begin construction work to erect around 6,000 m² a retail and service building at Strandgata 26-30, which will connect to the Fjörð shopping centre. The service hub will offer all the core services that a good town centre needs to provide, such as a good supermarket, a post office, a health centre, banking services, a pharmacy, restaurants, and cafés, as well as a modern library. The agreement provides for the City of Hafnarfjörður to be handed over its portion of the building between 2023 and 2026, where it will erect a modern library that better meets the needs of its users and opens up new possibilities and opportunities for a wider range of services, media and socialising.

^{Different options for an extension to the Fjørð shopping centre are under consideration.}

„With this development, we are both responding to residents“ calls for increased services and retail, and to the growing demand for retail and commercial premises in Hafnarfjörður. This is a very ambitious project that will significantly increase retail and service space in the town centre, as well as improving residents' access to local shops and services. Talks have already begun with a major retail chain about opening a supermarket in the building. With the new building, we will finally be able to better connect Strandgata and Fjarðargata, thereby improving the flow of traffic through the town centre. The building is a cornerstone of the town centre's development. Exciting times lie ahead and hopefully we can get started as early as this year," says Gudmundur Bjarni Harðarson, managing director of Fjarðar.

„It will be a great boost for Hafnarfjörður when the building is completed and the range of diverse activities in the town continues to grow. The municipality is also taking an exciting step by deciding to move the library into this new premises, thereby contributing to the further development and strengthening of its services.“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður.

Construction on the new building is expected to begin in 2021. At the same time, work will begin to shape and develop ideas for services and innovations at the new, modern library, which will include drawing on a well of ideas from residents, staff and other stakeholders. 

At its meeting in November 2020, the Hafnarfjörður Town Council approved the proposals to move the Hafnarfjörður Library from its current premises at Strandgata 1 to new premises at Strandgata 26-30. 

• See the minutes of the town council meeting of 25 November 2020 – item 2
• See announcement – A modern library is rising in Hafnarfjörður

^{In the picture above are Sigurjón Ólafsson, Director of the Service and Development Department; Sigríður Kristinsdóttir, former Director of the Administration Department and current Commissioner of the Capital Region, Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor; Ágúst Bjarni Garðarsson, Chairman of the Municipal Council; Guðmundur Bjarni Harðarson, Managing Director of Fjarðar; and Haraldur Reynir Jónsson.}