ALFA Development is a real estate company that designs and builds neighbourhoods that support life-long growth among the people who live, work or stay in them.Every development project starts with an idea, either for a particular use on a site or a vision for what a community might need. We look ahead at what demand might exist in the future, pushing the envelope with exciting designs, new concepts and innovative & sustainable methods of construction.
Our approach to development starts with building relationships. Whether that is with adjacent landowners, municipal planning authorities, or the local community; ALFA Development believes it is essential to establish credibility and trustworthiness with preferred reliable partners. Research, face-to-face meetings, focus groups and stakeholder engagement meetings are just some of the ways we aim to make the entire development process one where everyone feels involved and heard.
Building Spaces for Life
The ALFA Development team are problem solvers. They navigate and mitigate risk, they are solution focused and look to implement best practice. The team dives into creative site planning, find solutions to zoning issues, work together with City planning authorities; managing the development, construction and leasing process with enthusiasm and excitement. Our professional and experienced team is focused on high quality, innovation and sustainability. ALFA Development’s projects range from entire communities like the soon to be completed Kajkanten, Irmabyen or Amager Strandpark; to specific projects such as Trondgården, Den Grønne Fatning and Frimærket. The communities contain several projects within the development – and often combine retail, commercial and residential uses; while our projects tend to focus on residential uses (Build-to-sell or Build-to-rent).
ALFA Development currently has over 3000 residential units in the development pipeline in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Malmö and Stockholm; and is actively looking to expand into the UK in the near future. We have built a reputation with institutional investors and councils for being a reliable partner through successful deliveries of large-scale neighbourhoods. Do you want to partner with us? Contact: Jan Kristensen, CEO, jk@alfadev.dk
While Living by Alfa is a project within the Irmabyen Community, it also represents a strategic new area for ALFA Development. The project is the result of several years research of global megatrends, local demographics, shifts in the way we live, community based technology and other factors. It is a move towards the hotelization of real-estate and a new concept that ALFA Development intends to roll out throughout the rest of Denmark, Sweden and the UK. Living By Alfa is a private-club based Build-to-Rent community. Totalling 17.285 sqm, where 13.227 sqm are residential, the building offers 163 units, with 62 specific to 55+ Active Living and 101 units for singles, couples, families and the expat community. The ground floor contains a 480sqm Clubhouse as its centerpiece, offering common areas such as a lobby, lounge, event areas, children’s playroom, private cinema, and guest bedrooms. The building also offers a high quality restaurant, take-away, 2 large supermarkets and specialty shops with total commercial/retail space of 4.058 sqm.
The Clubhouse at Living By Alfa is professionally operated with partner, IHA, who will provide hotel-like services and activities for the tenants. The Community Manager comes from the hospitality industry and plans a full program for the Club members – also through the use of a proprietary App developed by Wicomico. The Clubhouse has been designed by Danish interior designer Ulrik Wang to reflect comfort and convenience.
Living By Alfa was named Best Emerging Coliving Concept at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum in June 2022.See more +
Amager Strand Park or ‘Amager Beach Park’ is located between the City Center and Copenhagen Airport offering 4,6 km of beaches. It was established in 1934 and given an update, complete with artificial island in 2005 by the Municipality of Copenhagen. Used year round for different cultural and social events, it is extremely popular during the summer offering water sports such as kayaking and windsurfing.
The Copenhagen planning authority had spent a great deal of time on the ‘lokalplan’ for this area of Copenhagen, particularly aware that this was an area close to nature and sea; but that it was urban and popular. Therefore the development possibilities were many – but definitely with a focus on ‘putting people first’.
ALFA’s approach in collaboration with its development partner, was to focus on citizen involvement, environmental and social sustainability and integrated urbanism along the waterfront promenade with attractive cafés, restaurants and shops.
The entire development built and branded from scratch totals 53,000 sqm, which includes 400 luxury apartments, 80 row houses, retail and commercial units built and delivered. More than 15.000 sqm was sold to pension funds and operated as a rental property portfolio. The remaining areas are currently under construction and consist of 4.900 sqm of residential space and 4.600 sqm of commercial space.See more +
Irmabyen is located on the former industrial site once home to the HQ of Danish supermarket chain, ‘Irma.’ Established in the 60’s, the area is characterized by ‘Kaffetårnet’ or ‘The Coffee Tower’ where beans were once roasted to supply coffee for the supermarket chain. ALFA was attracted by the potential of the 13,6 hectare site by looking at its location in the municipality of Rødovre - on the edge of Copenhagen, the surroundings and the wealth of nature trails; professional sport facilities; and adjacency to one of Denmark’s leading shopping centers. The development really was about looking into the future and developing a close and collaborative working relationship with the Municipality of Rødovre to achieve their goals for building out a new area of their City. The local plan was approved in 2015, and since that August ground breaking, ALFA Development has transformed the area, incorporating a mix of housing totaling over 135.000 m2 of residential and retail uses and over 1000 new homes. The development alone has increased the population of Rødovre by ten percent.
The sheer size of Irmabyen has allowed for many innovative social and sustainable concepts to be introduced. With Irmabyen already being a tight-knit community, the final project to be developed on this site, Living By Alfa, is an innovative new co-living concept centered around a Clubhouse and bringing people together. Opening in early 2023, the Clubhouse for Living By Alfa will provide common areas, offer services and activities to its members.
On the environmental front, Irmabyen’s development also includes the implementation of cloudburst flood management for up to a 100 year event within the public realm. This innovation has been integrated into the parks, piazzas and beautiful outdoor areas throughout Irmabyen. Irmabyen received the Best Masterplan Award at the European Property Awards in 2020, and awarded Best Architecture in the Multiple Residence category in 2021. The project complies with the Nordic sustainability Charter and DGNB Gold.See more +
A few minutes walk from UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dyrehaven (Deer Park), ALFA Development has built a new neighbourhood that meets with the Municipality of Lyngby’s ambitions to blend housing, research, and innovation. The site is unique in so many ways – very close to nature - and world class research and academic institutions, such as the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). And then there was the historical aspect.
While it was always known that the area had historical significance, the project at Trondgården sits on a site adjacent to monuments that go back to the pre-Viking, ‘Iron age’. ALFA collaborated with the Municipality and the Kroppedal Museum to support an archaeological dig prior to development and found traces of a farmstead dating from 500 BC to 600 AD. All relevant artefacts were preserved and indeed just 500 meters away from the Trongården site, even more significant archaeological artefacts were later found.
When given the official go, the site was developed into 24.000 sqm for residential use, with 15.400 sqm for condos/townhouses which were sold and delivered; along with 8.600 sqm of rental apartments, sold to an American capital fund. The project has a strong, yet subtle identity, with a tone-on-tone aesthetic, use of tile and wood throughout. The areas between the buildings are carefully curated and encourage interaction between neighbours in the common areas.
The project has been certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the Nordics’ official ecolabel.See more +
Wherever ALFA Development seeks to build, it looks very closely at how it can add to the goals of the Municipality, enhancing the sense of community, carefully integrating into the everyday life of its citizens; and looking to meet their needs in new and exciting ways.
Such has been the case in Herlev, one of Denmark’s smallest municipalities with a charming village feel. ALFA Development converted a 28.391 sqm industrial plot into a vibrant and diverse residential project. The community is composed of 164 rental apartments, 43 student apartments and 37 condominiums for a total of 244 residential units.
Den Grønne Fatning is located only 14 km from the center of Copenhagen, but lies in the midst of parks, nature trails and professional sporting facilities. It is an ideal and safe neighbourhood for families of all kinds.
The Project was sold to an international investor in June 2021.See more +
ALFA Development’s second project in Herlev, a charming community 14 km from the Copenhagen city center, ‘Frimærket’ or ‘The Stamp’ sits on the former post office for the village. The project has an urban expression, sitting on one of the main thoroughfares of Herlev, adjacent to two major shopping centers and minutes from one of Denmark’s largest hospitals.
Consisting of 7.811 sqm of rental apartments, along with 200 m2 of commercial space, the project has been designed with the tenant in mind. ALFA understood that many of the tenants might work at the Hospital or at some of the local institutions, thereby possibly having ‘irregular’ hours or night shifts. As a result, soundproof windows with state-of-the-art sound locks were installed, allowing fresh air into the bedrooms on warm summer days with no outside traffic noise.
Understanding the tenant is key and it is the small details such as the windows, balconies, the inner courtyard, and convenience that has made this a very popular building to live in.
The project was sold to an international investor in June 2021.See more +
Originally an old fishing village, Limhamn is a charming ‘town within the town’ of Malmö. It has a strong historical identity as one of Scandinavia’s leading fishing villages, eventually developing into a major mining, cement and industrial community. Architecturally diverse, the harbour area has many different types of industrial buildings and unique apartment buildings, villas, workers’ and fishermens’ homes.
Establishing a strong connection to this history and architecture has been essential in developing Kajkanten, a 21.000 m2 development of owner apartments under the Swedish term ‘bostädsrätter’. ALFA Development is currently developing the last of three phases where the first project, ‘Styrbord’ comprised 67 units, and was sold out and handed over in 2020. The second project, ‘Babord’ comprised 54 units and was handed over in 2022. The third and last project at Kajkanten is Karnaphuset and comprises 70 units which will be handed over in 2023/2024.
The Municipality of Malmö has a comprehensive urban development plan that focusses on density, public infrastructure, new homes, businesses and leisure. ALFA Development worked closely with the Urban Development Team of ‘Malmö Stad’ to ensure that Kajkanten met and exceeded their vision for this historical area of Limhamn.See more +