Consolidation of the residential business, maintaining a high rental level in all completed Resi4Rent projects, starting new "destination" projects – this is a summary of the operational activities of Echo Investment Group in the first half of 2023. The Group's development plans are supported by a high cash balance of over PLN 662 million. 

Accolade is expanding its portfolio with a new facility in Upper Silesia. The warehouse park in Ruda Śląska will have a total area of 67,000 sqm, nearly half of which is already leased to a single tenant. The investment is valued at €55 million.

According to the latest data from Cushman & Wakefield, the average retail vacancy rate in Poland’s largest cities currently stands at 3.5%, down by 1.2 pp year-on-year. More importantly, falls were recorded in six out of the eight largest cities, with the availability of retail space at the lowest in Kraków, Łódź and Szczecin. This suggests a gradual retail recovery in Poland, says Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, as the market continues to stabilize, retail landlords should increasingly turn their focus onto diversifying their offer.

Vastint Poland is launching its first project in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). The Pastelowo estate will be built on Pastelowa Street in Poznań, in the immediate vicinity of the Business Garden complex. The development includes 255 apartments, which will be entirely for long-term rental. The project will be ready in early 2025, at which time the first contracts with future tenants are scheduled to be signed.

Romanian company Rock Development Holding has obtained the construction permit for its first five-star hotel in Poaiana Brașov which will attract an investment of €70 million.

Romanian developer Forte Partners has delivered the second phase of its U•Center 2 office project in Bucharest. The building has a leasable area of 35,000 sqm and 28,000 sqm have already been occupied by office and retail tenants.

There are currently more than 56,000 sqm of office space in Prague available for immediate occupation. These are mainly office spaces that have been vacated by their previous tenants due to relocation to new premises or downsizing because of the transition to a hybrid office model. Companies that want to get up and running quickly in their new offices and make substantial savings on the capital costs required for fit-out have plenty to choose from. This secondary supply is a good complement to the shortage of available office space in new buildings that Prague is currently facing, according to the Cushman & Wakefield report.

A new generous public space has been created on the banks of the Vltava River in Karlin, easily accessible from Holešovice thanks to the HolKa footbridge. The entire area managed by CA Immo is now called Riverside Karlín. Since September, a new kindergarten has been open there, which is also accessible to families from the surrounding area, and the developer is preparing other services that have been lacking in the locality so far. The River Rink, which has been transformed from an ice rink into a place where other cultural and sporting activities take place, is already open all year round. 

The construction of the seven-storey Roztyly Plaza office building in Prague 11 has reached its final stage. Passerinvest is finishing its cladding, internal installations and landscaping. It is expected to be completed in early 2024.

With interest rates forecasted to decrease across Europe in 2024, real estate investment activity is set to increase in Romania as well as in other countries in the region. Andrei Văcaru, Head of Capital Markets CEE at iO Partners talked to Property Forum about the movers and shakers of the Romanian investment market.