Söderpunkten, a golden building block in Helsingborg's urban transformation

Now it is finally happening. The renovation and extension of Söderpunkten in Helsingborg has started.

Staffan Premmert, contract manager and head of FOJAB's Helsingborg office, is satisfied and happy:

- It will be a real boost for Söder, a development that we only see the beginning of. The main entrance, which will be moved to the square side, leads into something that is more than a regular shopping mall," says Staffan Premmert. In addition to shopping, there will be daytime and evening activities and experiences - including cafés and restaurants and a sports bar. At the top is a golden cinema, an extension with seven auditoriums, where the facade is covered with gold-colored metal panels.

What was originally a Domus department store, built in the 1960s and like so many others, is getting new screen-printed glass facades and a thorough renovation. In total, it involves about 10,000 square meters of commercial space and parking. To the northwest, adjacent to the square and the new main entrance, Staffan and his colleagues are currently designing a tall residential building. It will contain about 70 small apartments in 18 floors and a roof terrace for the residents with a fantastic view of the strait.

- Good architecture charges public spaces with activity. We create opportunities for people to meet and for the multicultural Söder to flourish and take place," says Staffan Premmert. This is just one of the building blocks of Helsingborg's gigantic urban renewal project H+, which aims to densify and connect Söder with the new neighborhoods being built in the old port areas. The goal is that by 2035 there will be 5,000 new homes, services, workplaces, shops and lots of green space. This is a development that we at FOJAB want to actively promote.

The entire block is owned and managed by Jefast AB. Skanska, which has been entrusted with rebuilding Söderpunkten, is now starting demolition work and if everything goes according to plan, the commercial parts will be ready at the end of 2017. This will be followed by the residential building, which is expected to be completed one year later.