Sooner or later, many companies that recommended their employees to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic will return to their offices. Whether this happens in a matter of two, four or six weeks, it is a good idea to start preparing for the move now. The Six Feet Office concept offers rules and aids to enable and facilitate the observance of the safe six-feet distance for increased employee safety. The companies that implement these rules will be able to accelerate the return of their employees to the offices, and thus their own return to normal.

70% of office building managers confirmed the adverse effects of the current restrictions on contract negotiations in a survey conducted by Walter Herz. The consulting company analysed how companies in Poland are coping with the current situation on the office market and what effects does home office bring. 

Colliers International has taken over the management of Prosta Office Centre in Warsaw. The current owner of Prosta Office Centre is KGAL Investment Management which acquired it from Cromwell Property Group at the beginning of this year.

Skanska has been assigned to construct a new medical faculty for the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (UKSW).

The coronavirus pandemic has had a relatively benign effect on the Q1 2020 Warsaw office market figures, according to the latest Savills research. However, tenants already started to optimize costs which soon may increase the number of lease renewals and subleases. Companies will look for more flexible lease terms and cost-effective locations.

During the first three months of 2020, demand on the Warsaw office market was nearly 139,000 sqm, which almost matched the Q1 performance of last year. The vacancy rate fell by 0.3 pps, while 770,000 sqm is under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in Q1 2020.

The Polish Commercial Real Estate Chamber (PINK) is hereby publishing figures on the office market in Warsaw for Q1 2020. The data is sourced from advisory companies from the commercial real estate sector (BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers International, Cresa, Cushman&Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank, Savills) and includes information on modern office stock, new completions, take-up volumes and vacancy rates.

OKAM Global Commercial, a new commercial real estate company founded by residential developer OKAM Capital, has appointed Savills as property manager for its recently acquired office building at 16 Lindleya Street in Warsaw.

The state of emergency imposed by the current pandemic has led to the almost total vacancy of office spaces, within the context of many of the employees working from home. The landlords want to lower service charge levels for this period and continue to provide the necessary services to maintain the buildings in optimal conditions, according to a report by CBRE Romania.

Belgian developer Atenor completed the construction of Aréna Business Campus Building “A” in Budapest. The project, launched in spring 2018, will comprise four Class A+ environmentally conscious office buildings on 72,000 sqm on the capital’s Hungária Boulevard. The authorization of the occupancy permit for Building “A” is currently under process with the handover of the 21,000 sqm building scheduled for June. In parallel, the construction of the second, Building ”B” is in full swing and will be completed in Q2 2021.