Tartu planning to develop new riverside residential district
The draft plan for buildings and infrastructure is ready, the City of Tartu plans to develop a new riverside residential area.
The development, if it goes ahead, will house a reported 1,600–2,000 residents across approximately 70 hectares of land to the north of the city and which is currently mostly a greenfield site.
Much of the land earmarked for the project is in the hands of private owners, who will need to be negotiated with to sell for the full development to go ahead. Some of the remainder belongs to the state rather than the municipality.
As well as creating housing, the city aims to extend the riverside Jänese hiking trail.
"There are many private owners there. The city doesn't own land in the area; the state owns a little, while the rest belongs to private individuals. After these discussions, we'll present our proposed solution and make adjustments if necessary. At the same time, we are working on the technical infrastructure — in other words, we want to plan the pipelines, sewage, water, and electricity at street level, but we won't go into the individual blocks. After that, we will hold a public presentation in the form of a meeting, and then approve the plan. When exactly this will happen depends mainly on negotiations with the landowners," Indrek Ranniku, head of the spatial development department's comprehensive planning division with Tartu city government, told ERR.
Dubbed Uus-Tähtvere, the planned residential area covers a narrow strip to the north of the city, between the Emajõgi River to the east and Kreutzwaldi tänav and Vorbuse tee to the west. The Dendropark marks the southern border of the plot, with the north to be demarcated by the planned Tiksoja Bridge.
This is all within Tartu municipal limits, which extend substantially to the north and west of the city proper.
Detached and semi-detached houses, terrace houses and smaller apartment blocks are all planned for the district, as are a kindergarten, grocery store and mobility hub.
"Our goal in preparing this plan is to create a coherent solution whereby the street network is unified, the pipelines run comprehensively through the area, and the architectural space is well designed, high-quality, and considerate of everyone. We want to avoid the creation of isolated little enclaves through separate detailed plans — instead, we aim to see an integrated residential district," he went on.
A roughly 100-meter-wide riverbank strip needs to be transferred to the city via an acquisition, an easement, or a personal right of use, Ranniku went on. "We'll see how that pans out. That is part of the negotiation process: In exchange for construction rights, we want to include the surroundings of the Jänese trail as part of the Dendropark, extending the trail further along the river. Essentially, the Jänese hiking trail and the area from there toward Kreutzwaldi tänav should remain largely untouched natural landscape in its current form," he added.
No specific developer has yet been confirmed, Ranniku added.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
