Vilnius intends to scrape the sky

  • 2002-11-21
  • Matt Kovalick
VILNIUS

Ready or not, here come the skyscrapers.

As of spring 2004, all tour guidebooks depicting Vilnius as a quaint baroque capital with cobblestone streets will be slightly outdated.

Builders have begun laying the foundations for the 33-floor Europa Tower and the 20-floor municipality building on the right bank of the Neris River, which, together with a new shopping center, will anchor the new commercial district of Vilnius and forever alter the city's skyline.

"We want the building to become a symbol and main focal point of the new Vilnius," said Arvydas Avulis, chairman of the board at Hanner Development, the firm developing the 120-meter-tall business center.

Besides office space, the 50,000- square-meter Europa Tower will include retail space and an apartment building. The first three floors will contain the "must-have" shopping center with stores, restaurants and recreational areas, said Jurgita Stasiukynaite, real estate manager at Hanner Development.

"Plants and fountains will warm up the modern architecture and create a feeling of a never-ending summer," Stasiukynaite said of the three-story, 23,000-square-meter shopping center that will also feature a six-level parking garage with 1,000 parking spaces. Six high-speed elevators will whisk workers to their offices and visitors up to an observation deck on top of the building.

Costs for the three projects are expected to total approximately 200 million litas (57 million euros) and should be completed by the spring of 2004.

Rising 35 meters higher than the Lietuva Hotel, the current record-holder in Vilnius, Europa Tower will outstretch all others in the Baltics, including the proposed Saules Akmens (Sun Stone) in Riga, to be built in 2004.

The grandiose project promises to reshape the surrounding area. For much of the last decade interest in the neighborhood - especially with the opening of hypermarkets and the Akropolis mall - had been lacking. Now, with Europa Tower, it's ready for a revival. For example, Ukmerges Street, which will be rechristened Konstitucijos Prospect after the renovations, will be transformed into a major thoroughfare.

The area promises to impress. On one side of the street, surrounding the open Europa Square plaza, will stand the municipality building complex, Europa Tower, and a shopping mall.

On the other side, closest to the Neris, will be the renovated Reval Hotel "Lietuva" (the country's largest), a refurbished shopping center renamed Mecca, and the Forum Palace entertainment complex, developed by basketball player-turned businessman Sarunas Marciulionis.

One of the goals of Europa Tower's designers is to shift activity outside of Vilnius' Old Town. While certainly not new, the idea has only recently been gotten off the ground.

"I've been in Vilnius since 1972, and even in Soviet times it was discussed how to move the commercial center to the right side of the river," said Virgaudas Juocevicius, president of Skanska Statyba. "But to initiate right-bank development, the city had to act first."

He also said that the the Old Town is not the most practical area for offices. The small streets breed traffic congestion, and the old buildings are difficult to renovate. He believes that the new commercial project will help preserve the quaint feel of the historic areas, not steal business.

"The Old Town might suit lawyers or other businesses that need prestigious locations, but more companies need modern office space with easier access," he said.

Skanska is heading design and construction of the municipality building. The firm is also negotiating with Hanner Development on its role in planning and constructing the Europa Tower. Recently, the company also announced it has been contracted to build the 10,000- seat Universal Arena just a few kilometers from Vilnius' "new downtown."

According to Juocevicius, the city will also benefit from consolidating its old municipality buildings spread across town. The new central location of municipality building will accommodate 1,000 employees.

It has been designed so that "50 percent of the working area will be in the high-rise building, and 50 percent in two additional five- and three-story buildings."

A year before the tall structures' completion, Vilnius residents may already begin to feel a change in the traffic flow and an increasing pull to the "new downtown." By next July, Gedimino Prospect renovations and the King Mindaugas Bridge should be completed.

"Both projects will benefit people movement - clearing traffic jams and providing more efficient access into and around the city center," said Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas.

"The new bridge will provide access to the right bank. It will serve to accommodate an ever growing business community with space to expand and develop."