Monia Dobrescu, Partner at Mușat & Asociații, spoke to Property Forum about the growing role of ESG criteria in bank financing of real estate projects and the prospects for investment in the local market in 2024.

Skyliner II is the second phase of the Warsaw high-rise complex owned by the Karimpol Group. The project will deliver approximately 24,000 sqm of leasable office space. It has been rated Outstanding under BREEAM New Construction with a score of 91.9 percent.

InteRo Property Development, owned by the Canadian Topolinski investors family, has kicked off the construction of a new mixed-use project in Bucharest with a valuation of €1 billion. 

The ongoing construction of office projects in Bucharest fell by around 50% year-on-year by H1 2024, to 46,900 sqm, with their completion scheduled for 2024-2026, according to an iO Partners report. 

According to a report published by Newmark Polska, the Warsaw office market has entered a period of stabilization, with development activity continuing at a moderate but steady pace. During the second quarter of 2024, the Polish capital’s vacancy rate edged down over the quarter, while more and more tenants chose to renegotiate leases. Meanwhile, the growing occupier demand for sustainable and high-tech offices led to an increase in refurbishment or repurposing projects.

The office leasing volume closed in H1 2024 grew by 0.2% compared to the same period of last year, with Bucharest seeing the biggest activity, followed by Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, according to a report by Fortim Trusted Advisors.

A consortium of Santander Bank Polska and Bank Pekao S.A. granted AFI Europe and Echo Investment a construction and investment loan of €103.4 million and a VAT loan of PLN 20 million. The loan will finance the development of Office House, the first phase of the multifunctional Towarowa 22 project. It will be completed in the spring of 2025.

GTC has presented the summary of its activities in Poland in the first half of 2024. Over 35,400 sqm of office space was leased across ten buildings in Poland's largest cities. GTC’s properties attracted 14 new partners, and 18 companies chose to extend their leases.

Developer J&T Real Estate is requesting a construction change permit for the Downtown Yards project, SME.sk reports. Along with minor changes, there is an important one reflecting a trend obvious since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mixed-use development Prešovská in Bratislava by the Hornex construction company received a binding opinion from the city, and the current change indicates that the investor is striving for further acceleration of construction, reports Yimba.sk.