Financial foundations for development of Blikastaðaland consolidated

Yesterday, the Municipality of Mosfellsbær and Blikastaðaland ehf., which is owned by Arion Bank hf., signed an agreement on the development of Blikastaðaland in Mosfellsbær. Under the new agreement Blikastaðaland ehf. will increase its contribution to the construction of key infrastructure, such as an elementary school, preschool, and sports facilities.

Approximately 3,500-3,700 residential units are expected to be constructed in the area, divided into three phases. The first phase includes over 1,200 apartments and provides for an expected population increase of around 3,000 residents.

Regína Ásvaldsdóttir, Mayor of Mosfellsbær, says that the new agreement - an annex to the original 2022 contract - is more beneficial to Mosfellsbær residents and facilitates development at Blikastaðaland. Infrastructure fees will increase, and payments will be made earlier to the municipality, in line with the pace of neighbourhood development. In return, the municipality will no longer receive a share of future lot sales, as stipulated in the previous agreement. The main changes are as follows:

• Payments will be made earlier in the process to cover the costs of building infrastructure, such as schools and preschools.
• The contribution previously allocated to sports facilities will be doubled.
• The land on which the Höfðaberg preschool stands will be transferred to the municipality of Mosfellsbær, allowing the preschool to continue operating as usual.
• Plans include the construction of two elementary schools, four preschools, a sports facility, and at least four residential centres for people with disabilities in Blikastaðaland.
• Implementation of the agreement becomes significantly simpler, as payments will now be made in cash instead of through land transfers in the future.
• Payments to the municipality for the overall development of Blikastaðaland will increase from approximately ISK 12 billion (formerly a combination of cash payments and land transfers) to up to ISK 16 billion in earlier cash payments.

The municipal council unanimously approved the agreement at its meeting yesterday, Wednesday, 7 January.

"It is pleasing to see the council so unified in this project. We have invested a great deal of work into this agreement and have conducted a risk assessment to examine the impact of the development on the municipality's finances over the next 10 years," says Mayor Regína Ásvaldsdóttir. "With this agreement, we now have a solid foundation for continued work on the development of Blikastaðaland," she adds.

"Over the past few years, we at Arion Bank have been working on the development of two major residential areas in the capital region in close partnership with the municipalities to which they belong. Our aim has been to create desirable neighbourhoods that strengthen their surrounding communities with good connections to nearby natural areas," says Benedikt Gíslason, CEO of Arion Bank. "Last year, one of these projects - Arnarland in Garðabær - was completed, and now we've reached this important milestone, bringing us closer to commencing development at Blikastaðaland, one of the largest undeveloped land areas in the capital region," Benedikt says.

Despite the increased contribution by Blikastaðaland ehf. to infrastructure development, the new agreement results in only minor changes to the book value of the Blikastaðaland property in Arion Bank's accounts.

The detailed plan for the first phase of Blikastaðaland will be presented to the planning committee in January, after which an open consultation period will begin, giving residents the opportunity to submit their views and comments.

Regína Ásvaldsdóttir, Mayor of Mosfellsbær; Þorgerður Arna Einarsdóttir, Managing Director of Blikastaðaland ehf.; Benedikt Gíslason, CEO of Arion Bank; and Halla Karen Kristjánsdóttir, Chair of the Executive Council of Mosfellsbær.

At Blikastaðabær: Þorgerður Arna Einarsdóttir, Managing Director of Blikastaðaland ehf.; Regína Ásvaldsdóttir, Mayor of Mosfellsbær; and Benedikt Gíslason, CEO of Arion Bank.