The construction of new rented flats behind the Municipal Building in Norrtälje is now well under way. The Stockholm Housing Agency will be involved in letting the flats.

The Index property company will build more than 300 flats in the area. The first stage, in the Juvelen District, consists of 186 flats, with the emphasis on two-room flats. The flats will be ready for occupancy during the spring of next year, so it is time to begin the process of finding tenants.

The plan is for the first tenancy agreements to be signed after the summer. Index, which is also building two multi-storey blocks at Norrtälje Harbour, has its own list of interested potential residents, but has also decided to work in partnership with the municipally-owned Stockholm Housing Agency.

”They approached us about working together, and this has meant that we don’t have to build up an organisation of our own. We are new to acting as landlords,” says Magnus Ekman, Project Manager with Index. The approach has led to the Juvelen District appearing on the Stockholm Housing Agency’s website a couple of weeks ago. ”We cover the whole region, even Uppsala,” explains Marika Nordström of the Stockholm Housing Agency. More than half a million people are on the waiting list for accommodation in Stockholm, including 2,600 people who are currently living in Norrtälje. “No decision has been taken so far, but we should be able to make an additional offer to them.” The centre of Stockholm is where most people on the list want to live. ”But sometimes we have to widen our horizons,” says Marika Nordström, and mentions that one of the advantages of Norrtälje is that there are excellent bus links, so that people can easily commute to work in Stockholm. She also points out that people who want a flat through the Housing Agency must register so that they begin to build queuing time. The fee is SEK 210 per year.

Magnus Ekman expects that around 130 of the 186 flats in the Juvelen development will be let through the Stockholm Housing Agency. The rest will be let to people on Index’s list. The first stage comprises ten one-room flats, 150 two-room, 17 three-room and nine four-room. The rent for a two-room flat will be just over SEK 7000 per month, including heating. The plans for the area also envisage enabling people to use carpools, bike pools and boat pools. “We believe that many older women and men will want to move in here,” says Magnus Ekman, and he says that Index wants to progress to stage two in the area.

The idea is that stage two will provide 127 new flats: twelve one-room, 91 two-room, 16 three-room and eight four-room, with the first residents moving in in March 2018. Planning permission has not yet been finalised for the second stage. Additional projects may follow. Index intends to continue construction in Norrtälje town. “We are looking for sites, preferably in the town-centre,” says Magnus Ekman.

Picture and  text, Norrtelje Tidning 160519