Construction of the first of two West Station office buildings, located in the immediate vicinity of the new Warszawa Zachodnia railway station, has completed. The complex, seen from both Jerozolimskie Ave. and all passing trains, will soon welcome its first occupiers. Its developer, international real estate company HB Reavis, signed a loan contract to refinance the project.

V17, a new office building located at the beginning of the Váci corridor in Budapest has officially opened. The seven-storey sustainable building offers nearly 13,000 square meters Class A office space, most of which is let to E.ON Hungary Zrt. for long term. V17 is owned by Torony Ingatlan Befektetési Alap represented by Diófa Alapkezelő Zrt., and was developed by Hungarian commercial real estate developer WING Zrt. Building V17 required a HUF10 billion investment.

The Polish unit of Swedish IT company Cybercom has leased over 2,500 sqm of space in the Nowa Fabryczna office building developed by Skanska in the city of Łódź. JLL advised Cybercom on the leasing process.

Today one quarter of modern office buildings in Budapest have a sustainability evaluation certification, and even among the older office buildings a growing number apply new technologies. Almost all new real estate entrants offer architectural and environmental management solutions to their future tenant, says a report by CBRE.

Horizon Development has laid the cornerstone for its new office project. Promenade Gardens, located on Budapest’s Váci Road, is expected to be completed in Q4 2017.

Romania has significantly strengthened its position as a favourable investment destination within Central & Eastern Europe and unlike other countries in the region, the Romanian property market is not entirely dominated by its capital city. Although investors and developers are most active in Bucharest, secondary and even tertiary cities have a lot of potential as well, and several companies have decided to explore what these regional hubs have to offer. 

The vacancy rate has increased for the first time in two years on the Budapest office market in Q3 2016. Still, net absorption reached a positive volume, reflecting a healthy market environment. The Budapest Research Forum has published its quarterly office market analysis.

Futureal Group is extending its portfolio with a new office building. Located at the Váci office corridor, Advance Tower is the second phase of the group’s ongoing project that involves the development of nearly 100 square meters of office space in the capital. 

Sii has leased over 3,400 sqm of space from Skanska in Poznań’s Maraton office building in order to design an office for both its current team and 200 new specialists who will be employed by the end of 2018. 

M7 Real Estate, a pan-European investor and asset manager, has raised its first Central European fund. M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I (M7 CEREF I) has received investor commitments from a number of family office and high net worth individuals totalling over €35 million to be deployed in the region. Following this initial raise, M7 CEREF I has acquired Oregon House in Prague.