AF Bostäder will continue to develop it property portfolio in order to provide more student housing. Construction under our own management is the right way to go – it generates increased knowledge, better housing and city districts that are sustainable in the long term. AF Bostäder has an ambitious and balanced expansion goal. Going forward, there will be one new construction start per year
AF Bostäder’s mission is to own and manage inexpensive and suitable housing for active students. The mission also includes new production in order to address shortages of student housing. For AF Bostäder, it is important that the initiatives are long-term investments that contribute to Lund’s overall development.
“We often say that it is our mission to strengthen the Lund brand as a university city”, says Magnus, former Property Development Manager at AF Bostäder. “If we succeed in this and attract coming generations of students to Lund, we must build housing that attracts motivated people who want to study. The housing is to be of high quality, meet the student's needs, help them to succeed in their studies, and be located in areas where the students want to live.”
The high demand for student housing has attracted commercial actors who invest in short-term, simple solutions or apartments in relatively high price categories. According to AF Bostäder, short-term profitability requirements mean that ultimately the housing is taken up by another target group, is built in the wrong location, or is just too expensive. Consequently, there is a considerable risk that this type of housing falls out of the system and ends up as a part of the regular rented housing market.
“We strive for a longer perspective – the perspective of the role we play in the built environment – in which we promote sustainable development in all aspects; social, environmental, and economic”, says Magnus. “We will create long-term sustainable city districts in which students and Lund residents can have a good future together.”
“That’s why we have chosen to build under our own management”, says Magnus. “Then we can develop city quarters according to our own conditions that are adapted for our customers’ needs, for cost-effective management, for smooth maintenance, and for the recurrent large-scale moves associated with students. We can at the same time ensure that the land, and the value of the land, is maximally utilised, for example through collaborations with other actors.”
AF Bostäder can also divest or demolish properties in order to finance new investments or provide space for new production. Kämnärsrätten is a good example where AF Bostäder is demolishing old “four-leaf clover” buildings in order to build new housing to a modern standard that provides space for twice as many students as before.
“At Kämnärsrätten, we have completed Proto and Sagoeken and started to build Hippocampus and Pireus”, says Magnus. “In parallel, we have also inaugurated Marathon at the junction of Tunavägen and Tornavägen, and initiated discussions with various actors about potential new projects.”
AF Bostäder aims to provide new housing for 1 000 students between 2020 and 2024. It is an ambitious but balanced goal, which entails one new construction start per year.
“Preferably, we want to manage our own projects, as this creates a better end result”, says Magnus. “One new construction start per year is a good building rate in terms of resources for our organisation and also a suitable tempo for building on our know-how. It is also manageable to administrate one major move-in per year.”
“Building under our own management not only produces better student housing, but also provides a number of other benefits for the organisation. We acquire knowledge and experience, we become attractive in the labour market and a driving force and respected actor in the sector. And that means we also become an even stronger voice for the students in Lund”, concludes Magnus.
Latest update April 14, 2020