David Johansson is Property Manager at Humlegården Fastigheter AB and is in charge of the development of Hagalund – an area close to the Solna campus of Karolinska Institutet. Humlegården are now offering new lab facilities in the area. We had a brief chat with David to hear more about the exciting development.
Humlegården has since 2005 acquired properties in Hagalund, why did you chose to invest in Hagalund?
Hagalund offers a central location, close to Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, and other leading universities. Within minutes you reach downtown Stockholm, as well as Solna, and you have easy access to public transportation. This makes the area strategically interesting, especially for Life Science.
You offer customized facilities for life science companies, how come?
Because of the strategic location. In Hagastaden, Solna and Stockholm are developing a world leading Science City. We see Hagalund as part of Hagastaden, and it is natural for us to elaborate on the same theme. In Hagalund we have offices and equipped laboratories ready to use today, making Hagalund an ideal choice for small life science companies currently looking for an establishment near the Karolinska Solna campus.
What challenges and opportunities do you see for Hagalund in the future?
The challenge is to further transform an old industrial area into a pleasant environment for research and development. At the same time this is the great opportunity. Today, many newly-built areas for work and accommodation lacks story and character. Hagalund has the potential to become an interesting, charismatic neighborhood with a story to tell.
Humlegården is a real estate company within Länsförsäkring group which acquire, manage and develop office properties. Today, we have about 80 employees managing over 50 properties primarily in the central parts of Stockholm but also in Solna, Sundbyberg, Lidingö and Sickla.