Investments, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Real Estate

Three individual projects are currently planned for Zakusala Island in Riga - a residential complex, an office complex, and a research center in the Television Tower, said Princis.

The residential complex will be developed by Zakusalas Estate, the owner of a land plot of 12 hectares in area between the Television Tower and Salu (Island) Bridge. There are no other buildings in the area at the moment, and a tender for the development of the area concluded recently, in which a total of eleven projects took part.

The winning project has been developed by a new Latvian architectural firm. The project envisages construction of a residential complex with 1,500 apartments and office space, and the entire social infrastructure.

Each apartment will have a view of the Daugava, and the new residential complex could be very attractive to families with children as well as senior citizens, said Princis.

"The project is not likely to be implemented next year or in 2018, but this is the landowner's vision that it believes could be implemented in the foreseeable future," indicated Princis.

The other project, an office complex, will be located on the other side of the island near the Latvian Television building. This is an area that the state is leasing to businessmen who are planning to build a multi-functional business center there, which will include a conference center, a hotel with 300 rooms, around 70 apartments, office and commercial space.

That project is still in development, said Princis.

Finally, Latvijas Valsts Radio un Televizijas Centrs (Latvian State Radio and Television Center, LVRTC) is planning to improve functionality of the Television Tower and its accessibility to the general public by constructing a panoramic viewing platform at the top of the tower, and transform part of the edifice into a research center.

It is currently estimated that up to 200,000 people could visit the Television Tower annually, added Princis.

There are also development plans for the other, more remote parts of Zakusala Island, but these plans could commence only after some of the said three projects is implemented, said Princis.