Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Thursday, April 27, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
New leases account for over 60 percent of deals in Warsaw
According to “Office Occupier – Warsaw Office Market”, a report published by Newmark Polska, Warsaw’s total office stock remained unchanged at around 6.3 million sqm at the end of the first quarter of 2023. The past quarter was the first in over 15 years with no new office project delivered to the market as development activity decelerated since the second quarter of 2020.
“The coming years will see a growing focus on major refurbishments, repurposing and replacing obsolete buildings with modern projects. This trend will largely be driven by changing occupier requirements regarding the quality of office space, further intensified by EU legislation on energy efficiency and alternative energy sources which help reduce environmental impact and lower operating costs, including service charges paid by tenants,” says Agnieszka Giermakowska, Research & Advisory Director, ESG Lead, Newmark Polska.
“The subdued leasing activity was due, among other things, to the shrinking availability of office space meeting occupiers’ requirements for technology and ESG solutions,” says Anna Szymańska, Head of the Office Department at Newmark Polska.
Nepi Rockcastle plans to open Promenada Craiova in October
Property investment group NEPI Rockcastle is set to open its new Promenada Craiova shopping centre in southern Romania this October, following an investment of more than €125 million. The project will include more than 150 stores.
Promenada will have an area of 78,500 sqm, of which the new shopping centre, which includes a retail park, will occupy 62,500 sqm and the Dedeman store another 16,000 sqm.
“We are confident in the project’s potential, which is why we decided to implement our newest project outside Bucharest. Although the market context remains challenging, I am convinced that this is a favourable moment for investment that will boost the national economy while focusing on sustainability and community support,” said Rüdiger Dany, CEO of NEPI Rockcastle.
Weerts Group to build huge logistics park near Budapest
Belgian logistics developer Weerts Group has teamed up with a Hungarian-Belgian partner to create a new industrial facility near the Liszt Ferenc International Airport. The park will offer almost 200,000 sqm of logistics. The new logistics park is the group’s third project to be realised in Hungary.
The developer aims to attract small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the broader region of the airport as the majority of them still cannot find suitable industrial space and are forced to work in tight residential areas.
New Retail Director appointed at G City Europe
Szymon Mińczuk has joined G City Europe, formerly Atrium European Real Estate, as the new retail director. Szymon has nearly 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate sector, in companies such as Caelum Development, GTC and Echo Investment. Szymon will manage the leasing department and further commercialization processes of the G City Europe portfolio in Poland, taking care of nine shopping centres.
