HB Reavis Reveals New Bratislava Bus Station Development at MAPIC
HB Reavis recently revealed the future appearance of Bratislava bus station to the public, presenting the concept for its latest development designed by world-famous architecture firm Benoy, titled “Stanica Nivy”, at the international MAPIC trade fair. Representatives from the world’s leading retail real estate companies meet annually at the trade show in Cannes, France.
Two floors of the five-storey new bus station building will be underground, the first of which will house the bus station itself, spread across over 30 thousand square metres of space, while the second underground floor will comprise a car park.
Three above-ground floors have been designed to include a broad selection of shops and services that, along with traditional food outlets and restaurants, will take up another 70 thousand square metres. Nearly 3 thousand square metres of the scheme will be dedicated to a modern city market hall.
More than 2,000 parking spaces will be located at the bus station, about half of which will be located at basement level, accessible from an underground roundabout, while the remainder will be located on the roof, with access to Mlynské Nivy and Šagátová streets.
During Construction the Temporary Bus Station will be on Bottova Street
Stanica Nivy is currently in the final phase of environmental impact assessment. Providing the building permit is successfully obtained, construction is expected to start next year.
Before construction commences, demolition of the buildings in the area will be carried out; the former building of municipal undertaking Marianum is likely to be the first to be redeveloped. The precise schedule will be dependent on the flexibility of building authorities, as well as the competent bodies and institutions involved in the planning and permit procedures.
Full construction is expected to take a minimum of three years due to the scale and complications associated with a project of this size, at over 14 acres in the city centre. The earliest possible opening date for the new bus station is late 2019.
During construction, a temporary bus station will be in operation on Bottova Street, at the site of a former shopping centre, just a short walk from the current bus station. The specific date of this transfer depends on the granting of the redevelopment and building permits.
The site of the former shopping centre on Bottova Street will be reconstructed to adjust the building and its surroundings to the functions and requirements of a traffic junction to the greatest extent possible.
The public will be given advance notice of all details relating to the system and operation of the temporary bus station.
Investments Mainly in Roads and Utilities; Greenery Also Included
As part of the new bus station’s construction, many of the adjoining crossroads and roads will also be modified in accordance with an approved traffic study, forming a separate part of the project in order to manage expected volumes of traffic to and from the site.
All underground utilities will also be completely overhauled, with many of them already in disrepair. The total estimated investment in public infrastructure relating to this project will be nearly two million euros.
Further supporting the future vision of Bratislava’s new bus station, bus and cycle lanes will also be added to the scheme’s surrounding area and a new underground roundabout is also envisaged, providing easy access to the bus station car parks, as well as to the office premises on the other side of Mlynské Nivy.
The new bus station is designed to make the site “greener” than it is currently. Extensive green space and parks will be landscaped in the vicinity of the building. Further green belts that separate traffic lanes from the pavement and the building are anticipated on surrounding streets.
The bus station building’s new design encompasses a roof garden. Ways to integrate space for active leisure activities into the concept are being currently reviewed, with options including street fitness, a jogging track, and a community garden.
“We are building a transport hub and a modern bus station that will be passed through by tens of thousands of
passengers. It is designed to be highly accessibly and user-friendly, facilitating the most pleasant commuting experience for thousands of residents and tens of thousands of employees from the adjacent business districts,” said HB Reavis Slovakia CEO Adrián Rác.
