Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Friday, September 2, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Adgar buys Renaissance Tower office building in Warsaw
Adgar Poland has acquired the Renaissance Tower office building in Warsaw from Octava Property Trust.
Renaissance Tower, a 15-storey office building, comprising 18,000 sqm. It was completed in 2001 and underwent extensive renovations in 2013. The property will soon change its name to Adgar Renaissance Tower and is to become the latest location for Adgar Poland to open one of its own Brain Embassy coworking centres.
“Adgar Poland has until now only owned office space in Warsaw outside Wola – in the city centre as well as in Mokotów and Ochota”, commented Michael Mevorach, the country manager of Adgar Poland.
The new owner plans to refurbish the building and bring it up to the standards offered to tenants in the other eleven capital properties.
Olivia Centre heading for a banner year
Olivia Centre in Gdansk is set to go for a record in terms of signed lease contracts this year. In the first six months of 2022, lease agreements covered an area of over 22,000 sqm, which, in the light of nearly 40,000 sqm leased in the entire 2021, allows the project owners to forecast another good result in the whole of 2022. As a reminder, all Olivia is 175,000 sqm GLA – and is the largest office project in Poland.
In line with Olivia’s policy, the concluded contracts cover companies from very diverse sectors of the economy. New residents include finance, IT, consulting, transport, HR, and agriculture industries.
“The first half of the year allows us to be optimistic about the entire year 2022,” says Maciej Kotarski, commercialization director at Olivia Centre. “In conversation, our partners often emphasize that their employees very often think about moving to the Tri-City. The most frequently mentioned advantages are access to the sea and the beach, high-quality air, the extensive Tri-City Landscape Park and extensive infrastructure, which makes it easy to live in the Tri-City.”
Grunwaldzki Center has been revamped
The Grunwaldzki Center in Wrocław has been refurbished to make it more sustainable and energy efficient. Its owner also held a series of meetings for tenants to address the well-being of building users, announced Savills.
The refurbishment works included a replacement of traditional lighting with LEDs. The air-conditioning system was also upgraded to one of the most modern and energy-efficient cooling units available in the market. The new equipment complies with EU directives scheduled to take effect in 2030. The Grunwaldzki Center is set to be revamped further. This year it will see the installation of photovoltaic panels on its rooftop
“The refurbishment works in the Grunwaldzki Center have further improved employee experience in the building,” says Bartosz Plewa, Savills Wrocław Office.
Skanska announces collaboration with ZEPP Canteen within Equilibrium 1
Equilibrium 1, the first building of the Equilibrium project developed by Skanska in the Northern area of Bucharest has a new tenant. Caliz Box joins the office building complex with the ZEPP Canteen restaurant.
Equilibrium 1 is a 12-stories class A office building, with a leasable area of 20,700 sqm. The building holds the LEED Platinum and WELL Health-Safety Rating certifications and is currently operating 100 percent based on renewable energy sources.
With the completion of the second phase of the project, Equilibrium 2, the complex will provide a total leasable area of 40,700 sqm.
“Our plan is for the long term, hence we are willing to double the investment and develop the complementary form of the canteen also in other Skanska projects,” says Călin Ungar, Development Director Caliz Box.
“More than an office building, Equilibrium is a vibrant space designed to foster social life and relaxation, therefore the ZEPP Canteen restaurant only adds value to the place.,” comments Anamaria Crețu, Leasing & Asset Manager for the commercial development division of Skanska CEE.
Jesse Shapins joins NREP to spearhead sustainable development
NREP, a leading urban investor with €18 billion of assets under management, announced the appointment of Jesse Shapins as Head of Urban Strategy & Design and co-lead of the Urban Development team, which is developing a blueprint for sustainable and inclusive neighbourhoods.
Relocating to Copenhagen, Jesse will oversee urban strategy and design for NREP both in Denmark and internationally as it advances its urban vision across Northern Europe.
Claus Mathisen, CEO of NREP, said: “Jesse is set to make a meaningful contribution to our mission to put environmental and social impact at the heart of value creation at NREP and to deliver on our commitment to being carbon neutral by 2028 without offsets.”