There is currently 343 000 sqm of office space in development in Prague, 144 000 sqm of which is slated for completion this year. This is the strongest development pipeline since 2014. That being said, the first quarter did not launch the major increase in new office stock expected in the wake of the historically weakest year of 2016. Completion of the majority of new space is planned for the second half of this year.

Business Link and Skanska will co-create an innovative ecosystem for start-up companies, small and medium enterprises, and companies from the business services sector in CEE. The developer has invested in Business Link – the largest network of co-working space and private offices in Poland. Because of Business Link’s planned international expansion, the company will become one of the biggest networks of its kind in the world. 

Colliers International has extended the management contract with Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH for another 2 years. Colliers will continue to manage the portfolio of 11 office properties with a total area of approximately 75,000 sqm. All buildings are located in Warsaw.

Berlin-based developer Bischoff & Compagnons is to start a new office development, named Alphagon, in the South Buda area of Budapest. CBRE has been commissioned with the leasing of the property.

The office market in Warsaw maintains momentum with demand for office space reaching 194,000 sqm in Q1 2017. JLL summarized Q1 2017 on the office market in Warsaw.

The first quarter of 2017 saw only one office building delivered to the Prague market. Strong demand from tenants helped the vacancy rate decrease by 1.1 percentage points to 9.4%.The Prague Research Forum announced the office market figures for Q1 2017.

JLL has been selected by Skanska Property Poland as the Property Manager of Nowa Fabryczna office building, part of the Nowe Centrum Łodzi urban redevelopment project. The building will be taken over by JLL management on 30th June 2017.

Skanska helps introduce the WELL Building Standard (WELL) to the market of Central and Eastern Europe. WELL is the preeminent building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and well-being through the built environment. Spark is one of the first office buildings to pursue WELL Certification in Poland. Skanska will also apply for certification for its projects developed in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

Wing is transforming the Material Center building in Budapest, which until now has operated as a shopping mall, into an office building. The building, which has an area of over 20,000 square metres, will be fully converted and renovated to a high standard, to be reborn as the Skylight City office centre. The preparatory works have already begun, and offices are already available for rental in the building.

Demolition is underway at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street in Central Prague, where a new mixed-used scheme will be developed by UK-owned Flow East. The new building, designed by Chapman Taylor, is to be called Květinový dům (Flower House, also known as VN47) and will comprise 19,500 sqm of office and retail space across nine floors. It will be constructed with the aim of achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status. Flow East is expected to invest app. €37 million (CZK1 billion) into the project.