Bonum cut ten apartments and is approaching the green light in Oslo

Bonum’s housing project in Gunnar Schjelderup’s vei 9, a stone’s throw from Storosenteret in Oslo, takes an important step towards realization by reaching public inspection. The company bought the site in 2018 and submitted a planning initiative two years later.

Since then, it has undergone significant changes to adapt to the needs of the local area and the city’s development plans, according to a press release.

Bonum originally envisioned 81 apartments in two residential towers with 9 and 13 floors respectively, as well as terraced houses. The submitted proposal has been cut to 71 units as well as commercial areas on the ground floor.

– The project has been fine-tuned since the first plans. Changes include removing three stories and eliminating townhouses to ensure larger outdoor areas. The biggest change is the introduction of a 13-metre-wide park belt with a footpath along the property, which will form the start of a new pedestrian connection from Storokrysset to Gunnar Schjelderup’s road. This new link is intended to ease the pressure on Vitaminveien, promote a denser walking network, and incorporate future green lungs into the cityscape, says a press release.

CEO Anders Bakken Eriksen is enthusiastic about the potential:

– Storo/Nydalen is experiencing impressive growth, driven by the combination of location and access to Oslo’s best public transport services. At the same time, it is a complex development area with many different policymakers. Our goal has been to design a project that integrates seamlessly with the surrounding environment. The project will be an important addition to Storo and Nydalen’s rich and varied urban landscape, he says.

Long process

Project manager Bjørn Wikan thinks the project has steady progress.

– We are satisfied that the planning application has now been submitted, but it has been a long process. We have been waiting for the municipality’s clarifications regarding the need for infrastructure, which has affected both this and other projects in the area. Now that we finally see a clarification, it is especially the planned walkway that has shaped our project the most. The adaptations we have made have been challenging given the size of the plot, and we have had to make fairly large adaptations to achieve a good project, he points out.

At the same time, Bonum believes that the walkway will raise the quality of public urban spaces and make Storo/Nydalen a more attractive place to live.

– That private developers and municipal agencies come together to stitch the area together better, ensure connections for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as rebuild roads into streets with more vegetation, will undoubtedly make Nydalen a better place to live, and will also raise the quality of our project, he points out.

The planning proposal is expected to come up for public inspection in April.