HB Reavis’ flagship development in Warsaw’s city centre, Varso, has been awarded a WELL Core & Shell Precertification by the International WELL Building Institute. Through the introduction of solutions aimed at improving employee wellbeing at the building design stage, Varso is WELL Core & Shell Precertified at the Gold level, and could be awarded WELL Core & Shell Certification following final performance verification upon completion in 2020.

Up to 210,000 sqm of modern office space was leased in H1 2017 by companies from the business services sector - this accounts for 60% of overall demand for office space outside Warsaw. According to forecasts by ABSL, employment in business service centres in Poland will continue to grow. By 2020, the sector will likely employ approximately 300,000 specialists, further fuelling office take-up. As a consequence, smaller cities will be even more competitive to attract investors. JLL has conducted an analysis of the activity of tenants from the business services sector outside Warsaw in H1 2017.

Cushman & Wakefield is the first global commercial real estate services firm to have opened a regional office in Lublin. This comes as a direct response to the growing office tenant demand, particularly in the BPO, SSC and IT sectors, for top-quality advisory services in south-eastern Poland. Cushman & Wakefield will occupy an office in ZANA Office II.

The CEO of TriGranit is still optimistic for 2017 on the Budapest property market, but he expects some kind of correction in the coming years. The question is: will this correction take place in the form of a market stabilisation or will it bring on a significant downturn? Árpád Török talked to Property Forum about TriGranit’s plans for new developments and acquisitions.

Demand in the Tri-City continued apace. 73,800 sqm had been leased in the area in H1 2017. The vacancy rate currently stands at 7.8%. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in the Tri-City.

Galeria Północna, GTC’s latest retail development in the Polish capital has officially opened. The mall has a total leasable area of 64,800 sqm and is LEED Gold pre-certified.

Increasing political risk on a global level has helped investors look past country risks associated with CEE markets and focus on strong fundamentals coupled with solid economic growth. Jeff Alson, Partner and Head of CEE Investment Team at Cushman & Wakefield talked to Property Forum about his expectations for the investment market.

Panattoni Europe announced the sale of Panattoni Park Warszawa–Konotopa to MEP Industrial Centre Warsaw, owned by M&G European Property Holding Company. The multi-tenant logistics centre comprises two buildings totalling close to 50,000 sqm and is fully leased. After the sales transaction is completed, Panattoni Europe will stay on as the facility manager.

By the end of H2 2017 space under construction by Echo Investment increased to over 1 million sqm, from 677,000 sqm at the end of 2016. According to its latest financial report, the company is moving forward with a number of residential, office and retail developments.

Tenant demand for modern logistics and manufacturing space in Poland is growing at a rapid pace. In H1 2017, warehouse supply totalled 707,000 sqm while take-up hit a record high of 1,786,000 sqm, as revealed in Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report.