The City Executive Council authorized the start of a sale process for Toppstöðin, Rafstöðvarvegur 4 in Elliðaárdalur, today. A competition will be held where factors beyond purchase price will influence bid evaluation.
In 2008, Landsvirkjun transferred lot number four on Rafstöðvarvegur to Reykjavík City, along with Landsvirkjun's backup station, Toppstöðin. Toppstöðin is just under 6,500 square meters and the current property assessment is just under 775 million króna.
Partnership discussions have not yielded results
Since the property was transferred to the City, various ideas have emerged for using the power station, such as a film studio, innovation center and extreme sports center. In 2016, the City Executive Council approved a policy for developing Elliðaárdalur called "Sustainable Elliðaárdalur," which moved away from plans to demolish the building and proposed seeking partners instead. Three times the city has advertised for partners to redevelop Toppstöðin for extreme sports, but discussions have not led to results. The City has therefore decided to advertise for interested parties to purchase the property.
Applications evaluated on more than purchase price
Given the building's historical significance and location, this will not be a direct sale but rather a competition where purchase price will have a 75% weighting. Otherwise, applications will be evaluated on factors such as concept, connections to Elliðaárdalur, design and consultation with the surrounding area, as well as planned activities in the building. Purchase offers will also be evaluated based on bidders' ideas about sustainability and carbon footprint.
Reykjavík City reserves the right to accept any offer or reject all offers.
Historic building in a unique location
The building was constructed in 1946 and began operating in 1948. Toppstöðin was an oil and coal-powered backup power station built with Marshall Plan assistance due to urgent electricity needs in the years following World War II. It played an important role until the 1970s, but its use largely ended after 1980. The building is a steel-frame structure riveted together in the same manner as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and likely one of the few steel-frame buildings of this type in Iceland. The infrastructure remains largely unchanged from construction, and the machinery, which dates to before the war, is considered unique historical artifacts. The station is the oldest steam power plant in the country. A startup incubator has operated in the Toppstöðin since 2008.
Letter from the Department of Finance & Risk Management.
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