Belgrade Waterfront

Belgrade Waterfront
Београд на води
Beograd na vodi
Belgrade Waterfront in 2024
Belgrade Waterfront is located in Belgrade
Belgrade Waterfront
Belgrade Waterfront
General information
Town or cityBelgrade
CountrySerbia
Coordinates44°48′33.2″N 20°26′56.8″E / 44.809222°N 20.449111°E / 44.809222; 20.449111
Construction started2014
Website
www.belgradewaterfront.com/en/

Belgrade Waterfront (Serbian: Београд на води / Beograd na vodi, lit. 'Belgrade on the Water'), is an urban renewal development project headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at changing Belgrade's cityscape and economy by gentrifying the Sava amphitheater, between the Belgrade Fair and Branko's bridge, including the Savamala neihgbourhood.

It was started in 2014 with the reconstruction of the Belgrade Cooperative building, which was finished in June of the same year. It is the second largest mixed use complex under construction in Europe, just after Minsk Mir, worth $3.5 billion. Belgrade Waterfront complex will include 10,000 residential units, bilingual elementary school and kindergartens,[1] luxury hotels including St. Regis,[2] the largest shopping mall in southeast Europe Galerija,[3] and public buildings. In total, about 1.8 million square meters will be built.[4][5]

The project was initiated in 2014 between the Government of Serbia and Eagle Hills, a leading Abu Dhabi–based private investment and development company focused on creating new city hubs in high-growth international markets. Around $3.5 billion[6] will be invested by the Serbian government and their UAE partners. The project's central point is Kula Belgrade, a new city landmark. Standing at 168 metres (551 ft),[7] this building is designed by the architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.[8]

The beginnings of the project are marked with the overnight demolition of the Savamala district in 2016, during which people were restrained by masked men and police failed to respond despite calls from citizens. [9]

  1. ^ "Belgrade Waterfront to get bilingual school, one of the few that will have a swimming pool". 26 January 2023.
  2. ^ "St. Regis Hotels & Resorts to Debut in Serbia's Capital City in 2019 with the St. Regis Belgrade". 19 April 2016.
  3. ^ North, Nathan (1 November 2020). "Region's largest mall opens its doors in Belgrade".
  4. ^ "Belgrade Waterfront – Global Scale Project in the Heart of Belgrade". 18 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Belgrade Waterfront". Belgrade Waterfront. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  6. ^ "Alabbar: $3.5 billion will be invested in Belgrade Waterfront, but it's not all about money". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). 29 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  7. ^ "Kula Belgrade". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  8. ^ "UAE firm to develop Belgrade Waterfront project". Khaleej Times. AFP. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  9. ^ [1], Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project