The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, has approved an amendment to the building law drafted by Regional Development Minister Klára Dostálová that aims to accelerate approvals on large construction projects. Now the law will be submitted to the Senate for consideration. If approved, it should come into force on July 1, 2023.

Petra Kucková has become the new Head of Sales and Marketing at Zeitraum. The company has specialized in student housing with a network of private campuses in Prague and has now expanded its business to another segment by launching its first project with serviced rooms and apartments right next to Wenceslas Square in Prague.

Czech real estate developer and investor Crestyl, together with investment management firm Cornerstone Partners, completed the acquisition of Polish residential developer Budimex Nieruchomości. Budimex Nieruchomości was a subsidiary of Poland's largest construction group, Budimex SA, owned by the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial.

According to Savills, the development pipeline for the Czech industrial market reached the highest level in history in Q1 2021. There were 47 industrial buildings in various stages of construction with a total rentable area of 734,200 sqm across the country. Speculative projects represented 36% of this construction pipeline, which was well below the 10-quarter average of 46%.

Alza.cz and Rohlik.cz are launching a cooperation. Customers of the largest Czech online supermarket can have their purchases delivered to selected AlzaBoxes. The boxes involved are specially adapted to keep the food ordered fresh.

Czech industrial developer Contera is entering a new segment and will deliver an office building in the heart of Ostrava. The new project, named Organica, is set to boast intelligent control systems and environmental friendliness, the company announced on LinkedIn.

Tétris, international designer and fit-out provider of office, industrial and retail space, belonging to the portfolio of JLL, has promoted Tomáš Pfeifer to the position of Creative Director for the EMEA region.

The RSBC investment group of financier Robert Schönfeld bought the Milenium Center office complex on Hybešov Street in Brno from Generali Investments' CEE investment fund. The market value of the asset in the heart of the Moravian metropolis is estimated at €7.8 million (CZK 200 million).

Local developer Passerinvest Group is preparing its second large-scale project in Prague, Nové Roztyly. The project is to create offices and other jobs for nearly 3,000 people and to provide housing for around 1,500 residents, local daily E15 reports.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (pbb) and Helaba have jointly underwritten an investment facility, totalling €130 million to refinance “Dock In Office Park” (4 buildings) in Prague for Crestyl Group. pbb and Helaba are acting as joint lead arrangers providing equal portions of the funding. pbb also acted as facility and security agent of the transaction.