First spadeful taken in Hamranes

Construction to begin on another two thousand flats in the neighbourhood

At the start of the week, the Building Control Officer of Hafnarfjörður issued the first building permit for construction in Hamranes, Hafnarfjörður's newest residential neighbourhood. In December 2020, the Building Company of Gylfi and Gunnar Ltd. (BYGG) applied for a permit for a four-storey block of flats on the plot at Hringhamar 1, where a building with 24 flats designed by architect Guðmundur Gunnlaugsson is to be erected. This first permit marks the beginning of the development of the Hamranes district. The Hamranes district is planned to include a primary school, two nurseries, and residential options for the elderly. 

^{The first sod was cut in Hamranes last Monday. Hreinn Ólafur Davíðsson of BYGG took the first spadeful.}  

^{BYGG will build a block of flats with 24 apartments at Hringhamar 1 in Hamranes. The first planning permission was granted at the start of the week.}   

25-hectare development site

Hamranesið is a 25-hectare new-build development which will rise alongside the Skarðshlíðarhverfi area. Six plots with a total of 148 homes have been allocated to contractors. The Gylfi and Gunnar Construction Company Ltd. have already begun work on two plots; at Hringhamar 1 and Nónhamar 4, where 12 flats are planned, in addition to which building plans at Nónhamar 6 have already been approved. Master plans from further developers are expected in the coming weeks. Bjarg Housing Association, which has three plots in Hamranes, is currently working on a detailed plan for 148 flats on the plots and on the design of the flats. Planning, road construction and infrastructure development have been in full swing in Hamranes in recent weeks and months, with every effort being made to speed up the development of the neighbourhood to meet the demand for and interest in both flats and plots in the area. Road construction is now complete around the contractor's plots and Bjarg, but further roadworks are expected to be completed this autumn. Development plots in the Hamranes district, with at least 1,022 dwellings, have now been allocated, and plot holders can proceed with detailed planning for their plots. The detailed planning process is expected to take up to 6 months before the main plans can be submitted and building permits issued. 

,“It is extremely pleasing how high the demand for plots in the area has been, and to feel the great enthusiasm among the developers.", says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor. „Plots in Skarðshlíð are now sold out, and development will then move on to Hamranes. The relocation of power lines over the neighbourhood and the works on Ásvallabraut will, of course, have a significant impact there. Several areas are yet to be allocated for development in Hamranes, and preparatory planning work has begun on the town's next new housing estates in Ásland 4 and 5. A huge residential development is therefore on the horizon for the town, in the aforementioned new-build areas, at Hraun-Vestur, in the harbour area and elsewhere. Diversity will be the order of the day in the coming years when it comes to new housing options in Hafnarfjörður.“

^{There is a great deal of development these days in the Skarðshlíðar neighbourhood and with road construction in Hamranes. Development in Hamranes got underway this week after the first building permit was granted.}