The Cranes are Back in Europe

All across Europe, the development engine is purring and cranes are everywhere as economic recovery - in some cases economic boom - fuels a demand for offices, houses and industrial areas. Long frozen after the financial crisis, programmers' pipelines are now filled with both shiny new projects and redevelopments throughout the region's cities.

In the case of the Amsterdam project mentioned above, two Austrian investor-developers teamed up with crane and drake low loader hire companies and a German hotel operator to construct a large scale congress hotel and residential tower on a brownfield waterfront site, such as the former Shell HQ, in the north of town branded as 'Siberia' by local players. The strip of land is now a 'vibrant new quarter' and 'the center of another city center' just a brief ferry and free ride in the historic center of Amsterdam.

The Y Towers project underscores the newfound confidence in bold real estate projects that are set to transform city skylines. Across Europe, large-scale improvements are taking shape which often combine a mixture of functions as cities adopt the idea of working and living districts to cope with increased urbanisation.

Instead of appeal to a commuting society where employees come into the city from outlying dormitory cities, urban planners are attempting to keep people in the centre by creating communities that provide everything from housing to leisure and office space in addition to healthcare amenities. Mixed-use and 'good density' are the new buzzwords.

Brisk activity in London
Across the Channel, London remains seeing brisk development activity regardless of the impending Brexit. A record 455 skyscrapers are set to be added to the town's skyline, based on the 2017 London Tall Buildings Survey published earlier this season. The new towers have the capability to deliver 100,000 houses, with 420 marked for residential use and seven for purpose-built student lodging.

Tour de force in Paris
Paris is also trying to capitalise on Brexit and before this year mounted an aggressive campaign to lure crane hire companies from the United Kingdom. During a trip to London before his election as French president, Emmanuel Macron announced that seven new skyscrapers are suggested for the La Défense district of Paris, made by high-profile architects such as Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster.

Brexit refugees
Just how much of this new space coming onstream in Europe's cities is very likely to be consumed by Brexit refugees remains to be seen. So far there's been a good deal of 'talk' about UK-based businesses and banks moving to the continent, but maybe not so much 'walk'.