Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Wednesday, October 12, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Ghelamco presents new office complex VIBE
Ghelamco has officially presented its latest office project in Warsaw. The new complex named VIBE will be the first in Poland to receive its own musical identity. The complex will comprise two separate buildings. The first is to be an eleven-storey building and will be handed over for use in Q1 2024. In the project’s second stage, a 95 m tower, with planned delivery at the end of 2025, is to be built neighbouring The Warsaw HUB complex.
VIBE was designed following Ghelamco’s ESG strategy. The complex is to have Well, BREEAM, SmartScore, WiredScore and Green Standard Building certificates. For the first two schemes, the developer is targeting the highest possible ratings of ‘Platinum’ and ‘Outstanding’.
VIBE is to eventually be 100 percent powered with clean energy, due to which the CO2 emissions over the entire building life cycle are to be reduced by over 50 percent. This will be possible due to the programme announced by Ghelamco to build solar farms that will enable the developer to achieve energy neutrality by 2025.
“VIBE is an exceptional project because it will be the first building in Poland to receive its own musical identity,” said Jarosław Zagórski, Commercial & Business Development Director at Ghelamco Poland.
“First the two building blocks were designed as a continuation of the street frontage of ul. Towarowa, which Ghelamco first started with The Warsaw HUB complex,” explains Michał Lah, an architect and board member at PIG Architekci studio, which was responsible for the design of VIBE.
Infinity building signs anchor office tenant
Divante, a Cloudflight company and a global provider of eCommerce solutions, has become one of the first tenants to commit to Infinity’s office space, leasing 1,900 sqm of space on the sixth floor of the office building. Avestus Real Estate is the developer of the project being constructed at John Paul II Square in Wrocław, which will be completed for the tenants in the second quarter of 2023.
“Infinity is not only an inspiring new space but also an environmentally focused office building that provides excellent levels of ESG standards, which creates quality conditions for work and business development,” said Mariusz Frąckiewicz, Director of Poland at Avestus Real Estate.
Marcin Łaskawski, CEO of Divante S.A., points out that the relocation is another precisely planned stage in the company’s development. “The new space and its arrangement are closely related to the merger of Divante with the Cloudflight Group and a direct result of the growing and changing needs of the dynamic market in which we operate.
The architectural design of Infinity was developed by AD Studio, the general contractor is Eiffage Polska Budownictwo, and JLL is in charge of the commercialization process of the building. Intensive construction work on additional floors is currently underway on the site. The investment is scheduled to be fully completed in Q2 2023.
Euro tower becomes the first LEED Zero Carbon certified building in Romania
Euro Tower, owned by Cascade Group in Bucharest, has officially become the first LEED Zero Carbon certified building in Romania. LEED Zero Carbon, part of the LEED sustainable development certification methodology, is the most stringent program in the world for assessing carbon neutrality in buildings.
Developed by Cascade Group, Euro Tower is one of the landmark class A office buildings in Bucharest, having a total area of 18,000 sqm structured on 18 floors and 5 underground levels, plus 200 parking spaces.
“Our vision, as a real estate developer, is to ensure all necessary aspects in order to maintain Euro Tower’s carbon neutrality also in the upcoming years,” commented Alex van Breemen, Cascade Group.
“Zero Carbon certificates and systems are the next step in sustainable building, as carbon neutrality and reduction of CO2 emissions are a worldwide priority,” said Răzvan Nica, Managing Director BuildGreen.
BuildGreen assisted the developer from the beginning offering consultancy and valuation services in line with BREEAM and LEED methodologies, advice for sustainable design and procurement, as well as for defining the long-term decarbonization strategy.
