You might not have realised it last December when its Bella Center was abuzz with world leaders, lobbyists and media representatives at the COP15 climate conference, but Ørestad, Copenhagen, has been holding its breath for the last couple of years. But while many other fledgling regeneration projects have been quietly scaled down, investors are eyeing Ørestad once again, buoyed by its location, established infrastructure and existing community.

Covering 3.1km2 of the island of Amager to the south of Copenhagen, Ørestad sits in a prime location just minutes from the E20 motorway, the international airport and the Øresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, and 10 minutes from central Copenhagen on the metro. Conceived in the early 1990s, it is now home to commercial and residential property, schools and universities, hotels and business centres, and six Metro stops – set within four quarters: Ørestad City, Ørestad Nord, Ørestad Syd and Amager Fælled. Construction is set to continue for another 15 to 20 years, by which point the region will house 20,000 residents and provide employment for at least 60,000 people. The earliest colonisers were undergraduates, attracted by Ørestad’s two universities and who now number nearly 20,000, and they were closely followed by corporate tenants, including Dell, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Accenture, and GlaxoSmithKline, no doubt tempted by the pool of degree-educated potential employees provided by the specialist IT institution and the faculty of humanities of Copenhagen University.

As well as the Bella Center, Scandinavia’s largest exhibition centre, Ørestad is also home to Scandinavia’s largest shopping mall, Field’s, a spectacular concert hall designed by architect Jean Nouvel, and the headquarters of DR, the Danish national broadcaster. Throughout, the architecture is sleek and modern, and currently dominated by the 25-storey Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers by Dutch architect Dissing & Weitling, which is carbon neutral and part of the soon-to-be-completed Copenhagen Towers, by the same architect and Foster & Partners, that will mark the gateway to Ørestad Syd. Its architectural dominance may not last for long, however; plans by Daniel Libeskind for Ørestad Downtown, in Ørestad City, feature two, 18-storey concave towers as its provocative landmarks.

But, despite the world-renowned architects and master planning, Ørestad has not been without its detractors. While individual buildings have been praised, critics have pointed to the overall design as being poorly planned from a social perspective, with a lack of community space and a poor integration of shops, housing and amenities creating a empty, almost ghetto-like, feel. And with only 5,000 permanent residents currently in Ørestad and a third of the commercial space vacant, sales are further dropping as people and businesses shy away from half-empty, half-completed neighbourhoods. In fact, with land sales grinding to a halt at the height of the recession, and with almost half the area yet to be sold, parts of Ørestad could remain that way for some years to come.

However, supporters maintain that it not only takes time to construct a city from scratch, but also its character, while By & Havn (City & Port), the urban development corporation managing the Ørestad project, says that the commercial vacancy rate is comparable to the Copenhagen region generally. Project manager Flemming Eismark says that commercial property is around 10%–20% cheaper than in downtown Copenhagen, and insists that buyers continue to be attracted by the region’s superior transport links. However, By & Havn has acknowledged the social problems, and has created a programme of events, BYLIV (City Life), to generate a sense of community as well as investor interest. Even Crown Prince Frederik has been involved, with his appearances at openings in Ørestad helping to maintain media interest during the downturn. Meanwhile, Camilla Zeest Rydahl, spokesperson for NCC, one of Denmark’s leading developers and a major player in the project, says that developers have also been working to promote the area, entering into joint branding exercises as they recognise that competitors’ empty space hurts their own businesses.

While Ørestad may not be back to the boom times, 2010 has brought an uptick in interest, commercial sales and employment and the number of jobs in the area is expected to rise from 10,000 to 12,000 this year with the relocation of the headquarters of engineering and consultancy group Rambøll and the Confederation of Danish Industry. Although Eismark is acutely aware of the effect of the economic crisis, which he says has been “hitting our customers and then hitting us”, he remains upbeat, adding: “This is the spot to be.”