The city of Ljubljana is expected to see some major urban change by 2025. As it was announced last month, a huge mixed-use project will be built next to the city’s planned new transportation hub, including a hotel, a shopping centre, offices and apartments. The Emonika project, which has a long history, will be developed by Mendota Invest, owned by Hungary’s OTP Real Estate Investment Fund. Property Forum summarised what we know about the project so far and how it could potentially transform Slovenia’s small and illiquid commercial real estate market.

Vastint Poland has received an occupancy permit for the K2 project in Gdynia. The office building, with a leasable area of ​​11,400 sqm, was built on Kielecka Street. It was designed to meet the criteria of the LEED environmental certification. C.Hartwig Gdynia S.A., the leading freight forwarder, will be the first tenant to move into the building in September 2022.

The first quarter of the year was another very demanding time for the regional office markets. They have been confronted with exactly the same challenges as Warsaw’s office market – increasing maintenance costs, higher rents’ perspective, more expensive and longer fit-outs as well as delayed construction processes. The future boon may be the emigration of Russian specialists from high-skilled technology industries, including IT, who fill in the talent pool in the regional cities, which are hubs for the IT Products and Services sector.

Macquarie Asset Management, on behalf of its Macquarie European Logistics Real Estate Fund, has agreed to acquire for an undisclosed sum a logistics and warehousing facility currently under development near Warsaw. The seller is Logistic Property Investment, which is owned by the Żabka Group and managed by the Żabka Property Fund.

Romanian developer Studium Green has purchased a property portfolio from Immobiliare Italo Romena, a subsidiary of former Italian lender Veneto Banca, for an undisclosed sum. 

The war launched by Russia on February 24th is still going on in Ukraine. Infrastructure facilities are being damaged every day. The cost of damages that experts share changes daily. According to the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the total expenses for reconstruction will range from $220 billion to $540 billion, writes Anna Nestulia, Principal at Invest in Projects for Property Forum.

JLL is expanding its leadership in the Czech Republic. As of 9 May 2022, it has a new Director of Industrial and Logistics Agency in the Czech Republic.

The beginning of the year was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused various obstacles to the Slovak economy. It pushes inflation up to the highest in 17 years as also the prices of food, housing and energy. Nevertheless, the lifted lockdown measures helped boost retail sales and new office leases surpassed renegotiations for the sixth quarter in a row. Experts also saw a record quarter with substantial take-up and plunging vacancy rates, Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia presents in their new report on the Slovak economy.

According to a new report published by Newmark Polska, the first quarter of 2022 was marked in Poland’s regional city office markets by high supply levels, stable demand and a shrinking volume of space under construction. With office availability remaining high in some cities, office tenants still have many options to choose from.

Specializing in ESG policy and operational cost optimization, Westbridge Advisory has opened its new headquarters in the capital city of Poland in April 2022. Danuta Grzywacz has been entrusted with the duties of director of the headquarters located at 1 Rondo ONZ. As Country Head for Poland, she will report directly to the Managing Director of Westbridge Advisory International AG, who is Hajo Engelke. From now on. the expertise of Westbridge is available locally to investors and asset managers operating in the Polish real estate market.