Large-scale restructuring processes in the urban space of Budapest

concept based on the partial opening of cellars originating from the quarrying era right under thesite) was to put the concept under international spotlight. The company has taken part in internationalreal estate development exhibitions in order to find investors. Despite the fact that the project wasawarded with a price by the international jury up to recently only few investors have paid attention tothe project in this less alluring area of Budapest. In the hope of success and as an indication of thestrong commitment the local government purchased another site connected to the project area.A serious difficulty in the preparation of the development programme is that the local government hasno resources for the implementation of the only loosely outlined cultural-entertainment functions andit can not be foreseen what kind of partnership can be established with private investors. Anotherproblem is that the asset management company of the district is not an organisation experienced indevelopment-related issues; it is also engaged in other different tasks, acting as a “maid of all work”in various fields of property-related activities.In such an uncertain situation the consultants working on the District Development Strategy ofKőbánya proposed the concept of some “introductory use”, in line with the character of the area.They drafted a potential project called “Dreherland”, which would, by the partial renovation of oneof the heritage factory buildings and with the involvement of the major foreign breweries. This couldput Kőbánya onto the “map of international tourism”, and later enhance the potential for otherrelated investments.Source: District Development Strategy of Kőbánya, 2007. Talenta Ltd. (Tamás Meggyesi, Gábor Locsmándi, Zoltán Kutsch,Pál Baross, György Pinke)The delay in the conversion of Dreher Breweries is explained partly by the missing PPP relationsbetween the local company and the private development sector. Similar delays, however, are commonalso in cases when industrial lands are in private ownership. Speculative attitudes are commonespecially in cases when an investor was able to obtain the premises of an abandoned large industrialsite in a peripheral location at a relatively low price. A frequent behaviour of them is that they clearthe site, keep only those structures that are apt for some income-gaining activities (for instancewarehousing, logistics), sponsor the amendment of the official regulatory plan (chapter 2.3) and waituntil the site becomes ripe for development. By the adoption of the regulatory plan by the localgovernment the development rights are secured for the owner, in some cases at a rather high level. Thestart of the intended development is delayed as long as a public infrastructural development improvesthe accessibility of the site, or the actions some neighbouring developers make the site more attractive.This come to pass mainly around the large, partly abandoned goods railway stations as is the case withan ambitious office project (“Office Campus” in the IX. district) the site of which is separated from thefast transforming southern development axis of Budapest by hard passable railway lines.The site of the abandoned public slaughterhouse close to the Ferencváros Goods Railway station (left),and the Office Campus Project. (Only the architectural plans for the two offices indicated with red yet areaccomplished.)34