Twin towers in location of Jugoslavija Hotel – Take a look at new EUR 227 million residential and business complex Dunavska Kapija

Two towers, a luxurious shopping mall, more than 40.000 m2 of business and residential area, a prestigious hotel are the facilities the future complex, Dunavska Kapija (the Danube Gate), will include. The construction at the Zemun quay should start in 2016 at the location of the Jugoslavija hotel. With development of the area on 5 hectares, the Jugoslavija hotel will become a part of the hotel brand Kempinski. In order to finish it, a total of EUR 227 mil is necessary.

The Danube quay will host the first guests by 2019. Belgrade-based Real holding, which manages the reconstruction on behalf of Greek QS Investment, says it takes two years to get all the permits. The concept of the plan is undergoing adoption.

- It is necessary to develop, to process and to adopt the detailed regulation plan for Block 11 and to release public tender for conceptual-architectonic solution - Rajan Rajicic, director of Real Holding, says for eKapija.

- After that, the main design development will follow alignment of location requests with terms and possibilities of public utility companies and city secretariats. As our dynamic plan indicators and even our planners’ estimations show, we consider all preparations will be completed within 18-20 months.

Roof swimming pool in the hotel, luxurious flats in line with world standards

The complex will occupy 137,500 m2 and, just like other world metropolises, Belgrade should get two towers 133 meters tall.

One of the buildings is planned to include some 20,000 m2 of luxurious flats, all or some of which will be signed by the Kempinski brand. The second building would have exclusive office premises and a certain number of business suites on an area of some 20,000 m2 which will be offered for rent.

Towers would also have a shopping mall selling brands for which people travel abroad to buy.

- The capacity of the future hotel will be 260-280 keys, one third of which at least will be residences and suites while others will be standard of high standard rooms. The hotel will have a renowned sports-recreation and a spa center, it will have a couple of luxurious restaurants, a pet pension, a conference and a banquet block, a roof swimming pool bar – Rajicic says.

Whether Real holding is still keeping a secret of the exact hotel name, they cannot be certain. Unofficially, Yugoslavia will become the Kempinski Hotel Beograd.

Almost 30% of the complex area will be covered with greenery and underground parking will be built so that the traffic in this part of the city could function normally.

The construction of the Danube Gate will employ 15,000 people.

Towers come first and then hotel

Rajicic says at this moment it is impossible to be precise when it comes to the question of which new facilities at the Danube coast will be the first and how the construction works will be carried out.

- It is certain that reconstruction and adaptation of the main hotel building is the last to be started. First of all, all underground facilities must be fully built and connected to the primary network. This means foundations of new buildings and strengthening and securing the existing ones. Logically, construction of two towers will follow and at one point reconstruction of the main hotel building will start, having in mind parallel deadline for completion of all facilities.

The major problem will be the fact that since 1974, nothing has been built in Belgrade which is as hig as the Danube Gate towers would be. Everything is rigidly legally defined so the authorities are afraid for approving the start of the works, the Real Holding says.

Still, the urban plan for the capital, which should soon be adopted, will define exact criteria for multi-floor facilities in the capital so investors will know exactly how they can build depending on the part of the city. The City Urbanistic Bureau developed the Study and as it implies, the highest buildings in Belgrade will be in New Belgrade, near the highway and in the coastal area.

I.B.