Prague Post Real Estate eSupplement

MARCH 2014

NÁRODNÍ TŘÍDA GETS A FRESH BURST OF ENERGY WITH QUADRIO

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Excellent design for reasonable prices

Rezidence Drahobejlova includes a wide range of newhousing ranging from studio flats to luxury duplex apart-ments with views of the city. The properties are beingbuilt in Prague 9 – Vysočany, just a three minute walkfrom the Českomoravská metro station, and a short

walk from Galerie Harfa or Fénix. All apartments are being built to ahigh standard and each one has a balcony. Parking is available in theadjacent yard or in the underground garage. An interesting feature ofthe project is the inclusion of premium-sized 1+kk bedroom apart-ments from 39 to 68 square meters, which can be eventually trans-formed into 2+kk and adapted to the current needs of the resident.Apartments initially designed for one person or a couple can be trans-formed with simple modifications into homes suitable for families.

Prices of apartments depend upon the location of the apartment inthe house and range from 2,225,100 CZK to 6,973,000 CZK includingVAT, if the apartment-assigned parking space is included in the price.

The project, which will be completed in summer 2014, offersinteresting architecture, excellent transportation access, good facili-ties, a large garden and a cycle path around the corner. For thoseinterested in living in Residence Drahobejlova, a model apartmentis being opened in April 2014. This was designed in collaborationwith designer Sharon Hindle. Those interested in viewing the proj-ect can either attend the Open Day on Saturday, 26 April, from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. or at any other day after making arrangements bytelephone. More information is available at www.drahobejlova.cz. g

ResidenceDrahobejlova

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REAL ESTATE 04/2014 www.praguepost.com 3

http://www.drahobejlova.cz.g

http://www.praguepost

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4

Rezidence Drahobejlova

http://www.drahobejlova.cz


MODERN COMFORT WITH STYLE AND BEAUTY


The construction site at the Národní třída tramand metro stops on Spálená Street is quicklybecoming a finished building complex. Theframework for Quadrio reached its maximumheight of 35 meters in early March.

The ambitious plan is to have the retail areas functioningfor the Christmas shopping season. The completion of thestructure will use a modular method, with façade blocks builtoffsite and then transported in a finished form to be put inplace. The façade should be finished by the summer, afterwhich interiors will be done. The newly rebuilt entrance to theNárodní třída metro will be in operation by the summer.

The building takes up an area that had been a plaza next towhat is now Tesco. The plaza had been designed in the early1970s to complement what was originally the communist-erastore Máj, but by the 1990s the plaza had become neglectedand became a gathering place for the socially disadvantaged.

The idea of the plaza isn’t totally lost, however. Part of theground level of the complex will include greenery, benchesand a fountain. Sculptures for the area will be by Czech artistDavid Černý. Restaurants will face the open space as well.

An area between the buildings will create an arcade con-necting Spálená and Charvátova streets.

Quadrio expectedto revitalize Národní třídaS ix building com plex es will include relax ation and pedestrianzon es am ong shops...

NOWLAUNCHINGTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

6

THE TERRACE FOR USE OF THE TENANTS OF THEOFFICE FLOORS HAS A SPECTACULAR VIEW.

Prague 1 Mayor Oldřich Lomecký was enthusiastic that thecomplex would help to revitalize the area. “Quadrio makes asignificant contribution to our city district by the creation of anew public space, where at Národní třída in particular it wasan eyesore. In addition to tourism, it brings back normal life tothis part of the historical center of Prague 1 with a diverserange of services and shopping as well as work and recre-ational opportunities. It gives rise on the square to cafés,restaurants and green space and in addition will add to oururban pedestrian zone,” Lomecký said.

The Quadrio complex itself is mixed use, with shopping onthe lower levels, and offices and luxury apartments above.The building also had to meet the requirements of being in aprotected architectural area.

“Our vision lay in the creation of a modern self-confidentbuilding with a very strong concept that would, at the sametime, fit into the context of the municipal environment andvicinity of this landmark zone,” said architect Jakub Ciglerfrom the Cigler Marani Architects studio.

Quadrio’s six buildings were built with energy efficiency inmind, and the owners have applied for a LEED Silver certifica-tion. The glass façade allows for heavy usage of natural light,and the efficient design means the operating costs are low.

The ground plan and the above-average proportion ofglassed-in façade enable maximum utilization of the workarea without dead spots. Daylight hits almost every squaremeter of the area, thanks to which a typical floor with a netleasable area of 2,800 square meters will comfortably accom-modate up to 350 workers, according to developer CPI.

In addition, the ground plan and equipment positioningsimplify the structuring of offices, which can be conceived asseparate or open plan.

Developer CPI is enthusiastic about the project. “Thanks toits location in the historical downtown of Prague and directlyabove a metro stop, its technical quality and efficiency, as


THE VIEWS FROM INSIDE AS WELL ARE AMAZING AS FROM THE TERRACE

“THE LARGE ROOF TERRACE WITH ITSPANORAMIC VIEWS OF PRAGUE IS A

REAL RARITY AND, CONTRARY TO THEORIGINAL PLAN, WILL BE ACCESSIBLE

BY ALL OFFICE TENANTS, NOT ONLYCOMPANIES RESIDING ON THE TOP

FLOOR. THE TERRACE WILL SERVE TEN-ANTS FOR INFORMAL MEETINGS DUR-

ING BUSINESS HOURS, AS WELL AS FORSOCIAL EVENTS FOR THEIR CLIENTS,”

SAID PAVEL SK IVÁNEK, OFFICE LEASEMANAGER OF THE CPI GROUP.


NOWLAUNCHINGTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

8A LONG WAY AWAY FROM THE KLOBASA STANDS THAT USED TO OCCUPY THIS GROUND ALL IMAGES QUADRIO/CPI

THE ENTRANCE TO QUADRIO IS

DESIGNED TO AWEAND INSPIRE...

well as the unique panoramic views and its own parking lot, ithas no competition in downtown Prague. This project is sounique that we have decided to utilize part of the administrativepremises as the new business site for our Real Estate Group,”said Zdeněk Havelka, general manager of the CPI Group.

The shopping gallery takes up two underground and twoabove-ground floors with shops covering 8,500 sqm, andmost of it has been leased.

“Tenants will include Promod, Calzedonia, Tchibo, Tescoma,Neoluxor bookstore, CCC shoes, Sephora perfumery, Sparkystoys, dm drugstore, Delicato Café and Café Level, and theQuadrio pharmacy,” said Peter Fazekaš, shopping center leasemanager of CPI Group.

The other above-ground floors will feature 16,400 sqm ofoffices that will provide future tenants with above-standardservices, as well as a prime location right at a central trans-port hub. The roof of the top floor will feature views of thewhole of Prague.

“The large roof terrace with its panoramic views of Prague isa real rarity and, contrary to the original plan, will be accessibleby all office tenants, not only companies residing on the topfloor. The terrace will serve tenants for informal meetings dur-

ing business hours, as well as for social events for their clients,”said Pavel Skřivánek, office lease manager of the CPI Group.

“As for office lease, we are at an advanced stage of negotiationswith five important players who will occupy most of the totalcapacity if the respective contracts are concluded.” The complexhas 250 underground parking spots for tenants and residents.

Quadrio also has apartments in a separate building. Someof the flats offer impressive views. “The residential areaincludes apartments ranging from small up to large and luxu-rious that take up the whole floor and feature a wide terrace,which is a real rarity downtown.

Prices range from 100,000 to150,000 Kč per square meter,and at the moment, there are only five apartments availablefor sale, which is proof of the project’s attractiveness anduniqueness,” said Igor Klajmon, development manager of theCPI Group.

The name Quadrio originated as a play on words referringto the building’s clover-shaped ground plan, the project'squality, and also the four basic functions interconnectingbusiness, work, living and leisure. g

- Raymond Johnston can be reached at [email protected]


ARTIST’S CONCEPT OF THE SHOPPINGARCADE IN QUADRIO...

mailto:[email protected]


When the opportunity came up for RogerDunlop to move to Central Europe withAvestus Real Estate, it gave him thechance to complete “unfinished busi-ness.” At the time Dunlop was based in

his native United Kingdom, but he had been in the regionbefore, having worked in Poland for Chelverton Internationalfrom the late 1990s to the early 2000s.

“The idea [with Chelverton] was to look at creating a flat busi-ness in Warsaw, and we did a lot of work and a lot of researchwith it. It became clear that we were perhaps a little bit aheadof our time and the Polish market generally slowed downaround 2000 and 2001. So it wasn’t a particularly good time to

be going into that market,” he said. “Having been in Poland andgone back to the UK, I felt I had unfinished business in CentralEurope. I hadn’t done what I wanted to achieve. Then theopportunity to come back [arose]. It’s something we took as afamily very happily.”

Dunlop moved back to the region in 2006 as chief executiveof Avestus Real Estate. Managing 55 staff, he heads an opera-tion with offices in Prague, Warsaw, Krakow, Bratislava andBudapest, and interests in Croatia. Current projects include theconstruction of Phase II of Enterprise Park, an office scheme inKrakow, while in the Czech Republic the focus is on residentialrather than office developments. Among these is the Modřanskýháj complex in Prague 4, which is currently being expanded.

Dealing withunfinished businessExecutive is enjoying his second stint in Central and Eastern Europe

INTERVIEWTEXT DANIEL BARDSLEY

10

ROGER DUNLOP RACES CARS FOR FUN WHEN HE IS NOT DEALING WITH REAL ESTATE. PHOTO DANIEL BARDSLEY

In Bratislava there is a mixed-use development in thepipeline, while the construction of an office building inBudapest on behalf of a client has recently been completed. Aswell as having its own developments and acting as projectmanagers for others, Avestus Real Estate undertakes propertyand asset management work for investors. Dunlop has interestsoutside property, and once dreamed of being a professionalracing driver. He still competes on the race track, driving aRenault Clio with some property industry friends. The PraguePost sat down with him at the company’s headquarters over-looking Wenceslas Square in Prague to find out more.

PRAGUE POST: WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MARKET?

ROGER DUNLOP: Definitely there’s a sense of recovery insome places and it’s not across the entire spectrum of CentralEurope. If you look at it from an investor’s perspective, the fun-damentals seem to be improving. Economies seem to be doingslightly better. There seems to be slightly more confidence …We’re seeing marginally improving figures that makes the gen-eral public feel more confident in their well being. Markets aredriven by consumerism, whether it’s tenants wanting to takespace or people buying apartments. There’s definitely a bit ofrecovery. From a real-estate point of view, that’s translating intoa desire to invest.

ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR HOTSPOTS?

Poland is still popular. It’s slowed down, but it’s still perceivedto be a good place to be. By Poland, I mean Warsaw. But in thelast six months, we’ve seen investors looking at the wider Polishopportunities. That’s encouraging from our perspectivebecause it means there’s now a growing understanding the[other parts of] Poland have value, not just Warsaw.

Poland has a good story to tell in certain locations. If thecountry is going to move forward, it [all] has to move forward,not just Warsaw. In terms of locations, investors are certainlystill talking about Prague. They’re not talking about Slovakia.

But I’ve heard some [discussion] about Budapest, which isencouraging or surprising. Bucharest seems to be taking astronger position in people’s minds than it has in the past,which is encouraging.

TPP: WHAT FACTORS ARE CONTINUING TO CAUSE DIFFICULTIES

IN THE MARKET?

Banking continues to be an issue. Although we’re finding it isnot as much of an issue as it used to be, it’s clear there are stillsome issues with the banking system which perhaps have notyet been fully worked through. The European Central Bank’s[asset quality] review will put additional stress and pressure onbanks and it may mean that some are less able to lend. Bankingdebt and equity over the last five years have been hard to get.

Banks have a lot of issues, as has the market in general. Itcontinues to be a difficulty, but it has to be overcome. It’sencouraging to see some new entrants to the market, likeSberbank [which took over the international operations ofAustria’s Volksbank]. They seem to be a little bit more active.Some of the German banks are back and a little more active.It’s not a completely bleak picture. That’s important, becausethat’s what’s going to make this recovery work.

WHAT WAS YOUR TIME IN MOTOR RACING LIKE?

I used to work [part-time] at [the British motor racing circuit]Brands Hatch as an instructor for a few years, and I still do a bitof racing over here. I didn’t want to work in an office when I was17. I wanted to be out and about. I didn’t want to work in thecity. I grew up in the country, so it’s ironic I’m sitting in an officein the center of Prague…

I’m from the era of the likes of [former Formula One worldchampion] Damon Hill [and] raced at the same time as [formerFormula One drivers] JJ Lehto and Johnny Herbert. They weremiles ahead. It was obvious very, very early on. They were atthe front and I was at the back of it [although] to say I racedagainst them would be wrong.

BACK TO THE PROPERTY SECTOR, WHAT IS NEEDED TO HELP

SUPPORT THE RECOVERY?

The business in the next two years has got to develop orredevelop its ability to transact, the ability to deliver good proj-ects over the long term and to connect, to reconnect againwith the capital sources. …

For us it’s about becoming busier again. … [We have] the abili-ty to put together and deliver good-quality product, and wewant to take advantage of the fact things are improving. g


THE DUNLOP FILENAME: ROGER DUNLOPAGE: 48NATIONALITY: BRITISHCURRENT POSITION: CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVESTUSREAL ESTATE (SINCE 2006)PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Managing director, GleesonHomes, 2002-06; managing director, Chelverton Inter-national, 1999-2001QUALIFICATIONS: Member of the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors (MRICS)


C&Ato open flagship on Wenceslas Square

It is not often that there is a new addition to Wenceslas Square, the main shop-ping area in Prague. Opportunities are rare, as many of the buildings that ringthe square are landmarks, there is often great opposition to tearing one down.

RETAILNEWSTEXT & PHOTO RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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THE AUSTRIAN FASHION RETAILERWILL HAVE FOUR FLOORS IN THERECENTLY COMPLETED DIAMANT

Diamant, located between the AmbassadorHotel and Koruna Palace, was designed byarchitect Václav Hlaváček of Studio Acht, thesame architectural studio that renovated thenearby Van Graaf building. The name Diamant

is a reference to the fact that in 1895 there was a diamondmerchant at that location.

The new eight-story building, which was completed in Q4 2013, has an overall area of some 10,765 square meters.Diamant’s key tenant is fashion retailer C&A, which signed alease in October 2013 for the entire available retail space of5,771 square meters, made up of one level under and threeabove ground. C&A will open its doors to the public April 10.

“In celebration of its number one position and 15 years inthe Czech market, C&A will unveil Diamant, the Czech

Republic’s newest flagship store, and the largest C&A store inall of Eastern Europe, at the very heart of Prague in WenceslasSquare. C&A Diamant offers an extraordinary shopping experi-ence with … retail space on four floors. From bicycles as cloth-ing racks to trendy dressing rooms and unique lightingsolutions, the new flagship provides an innovative and one-of-a-kind design experience. Its urban setting serves as the per-fect surrounding for a variety of on-trend styles – all startingwith the new spring/summer collection in April,” C&A said in apress release.

It will be one of C&A’s five flagships. The Austria-based retail-er also has flagship stores in Barcelona and Vienna. Two moreare planned.

The building also has 3,510 square meters of office spaceand 1,484 square meters of residential space on the top twostories. Office tenants include Wayra, a subsidiary of TelefónicaO2, and real estate firm Knight Frank. One floor of office spaceis still available.

The entire residential component of 24 apartments hasbeen leased by a provider of short-term accommodation andwill be operated under the name Wenceslas Square Terraces.Two of the apartments feature access to terraces, and allcome with air conditioning, flat screen TV and a kitchenette.

The building has obtained LEED Gold certification, making itone the city’s most efficient buildings, according to real estatefirm Max Immo.

“Diamant is characterized by respect for the genius loci ofthis prestigious location and does not cause visual distractionto people. Its exclusive quality is precisely this effortless ele-gance. … The most lucrative spot in the city can offer its ten-ants maximum comfort in an environmentally sustainablepackaging, while not disturbing the character of the locality,”Carlo Gradl, CEO of Max Immo, said in a press release.

The criteria for LEED certification include resource manage-ment, water efficiency, energy efficiency, lowering of CO2emissions and a preference for sustainable and non-haz-ardous materials. Proximity to public transportation is also afactor. For example, Diamant is designed to use captured rainto irrigate its greenery. It also has a high level of insulation,and 95 percent of its construction waste was recycled intoother buildings.

The project investor was a firm called Mustela, which isowned by Austria-based Wolfgang Müller, who has additionalproperties on Na Příkopě, Prague’s most expensive retailstreet, as well investments in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. g


THE MAIN TENANT OF THENEW DIAMANT BUILDING,

C&A, IS ABOUT TO OPEN ITLARGEST STORE IN

CENTRAL AND EASTERNEUROPE.


URBANPLANNINGTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

14PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF RESITE HAD URBAN PLANNING EXPERTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. PHOTO RESITE

“'THIS YEAR WE AREFOCUSING MORE ONAN INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ANDREALLY BROADENINGTHE PERSPECTIVE TO GET PEOPLEFROM ALL AROUNDTHE WORLD...”-MARTIN BARRY

The third reSite conference inPrague will address thetheme Cities and Landscapesin the New Economy. TheJune 19–20 conference is a

venue for architects, urban planners,developers, city and regional officials andothers with a stake in the future of citiesto meet and exchange ideas. The eventwill be the first to take place newly con-structed Forum Karlín.

The topics are broad and concern mostcities and towns, not just mega-cites. Theongoing loss of public space to privatedevelopment, the issue of traffic versuspeople, the expansion of zones of sociallyexcluded people, depopulation in theurban center and the loss of green spaceare becoming universal issues. The experi-ence that one location has had dealingwith any one of these topics is often easi-ly transferable to another place.

Martin Barry, the founder and directoror reSite, said that urban planning should-n’t be just a top-down process, but a bot-tom-up one as well. It should meet in themiddle, so that there is input from citizensas well as good leadership.

“Cities need to be cool and green to becompetitive. We think that we shoulddesign the city for people first,” he said.“We think, in terms of planning and urban-ism, that people on the streets equals

more return on investment. It’s not justgood design; it’s good economics,” headded.

The conference for the past two yearshas been helping to bridge the gapbetween design and policy and financeand community. And these are key issues.“If you are not doing that, you are not anurban designer,” Barry said.

The conference has quickly becomethe most important of its type in Centraland Eastern Europe. More than 50 speak-ers will share experiences with over 500guests. Some of the goals include pro-moting more openness and transparencyin the planning process for cities, andshining an international light on the newmetropolitan plan for Prague.

Corruption in the planning and buildingprocess is still a problem in many citiesand is a barrier to good urban design,Barry pointed out. “And a lot of this couldbe fixed with good leadership. It can befixed with independence from the devel-opment process. It can be fixed with goodeducation, and it can be fixed when youdesign to an appropriate scale,” he said.

Barry also wants to expand the horizonsof the conference. “This year we arefocusing more on an international confer-ence and really broadening the perspec-tive to get people from all around the

world to attend this conference,” he said.

“We want Prague to become the centerof architecture and urbanism for at least afew days in 2014,” he added. In additionto the June 19–20 conference, there willbe workshops on June 18.

The first main speaker for the confer-ence is scheduled to be Harvard professorEdward Glaeser, who studied the eco-nomics of cities and has written abouturban issues such as the growth of cities,segregation, crime and housing markets.He is also interested in the role that geo-graphic proximity can play in creatingknowledge and innovation. Cities facilitateface-to-face contact, which helps todevelop closer cooperation, he claims.

Michael Kimmelman, the chief architec-ture critic for The New York Times, willmoderate the discussion of the openingspeech as well as give his own talk thefollowing day. He will address, amongother ideas, public space as a place forthe kind of public discourse that is need-ed for a healthy society.

The other topics in the conference willinclude finding innovative uses for relicsfrom a city’s industrial past, urban densityand economic development, and commu-nity resiliency.

The speakers come from varied back-

ReSiteto make Praguethecenter of urbanismThird annual conference to be first for newly completed Forum Karlín



grounds. French landscape artist Michel Desvigne has projectsin more than a dozen countries and has worked withFoster+Partners, Rem Koolhaas, I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano andRichard Rogers, among others. He earned the French nationalUrbanism Grand Prize in 2011.

New York City–based urbanist Adam Greenfield has a back-ground in information technology.He has written and consulted wide-ly on issues at the intersection ofdesign, technology and culture, withan increasing focus on how thesethings interact in and condition ourexperience of cities.

Another important speaker isMargaret Newman, currently theexecutive director of the MunicipalArt Society in New York. Untilrecently she was the chief of staff atthe New York City Department of Transportation.

She worked extensively with sustainable design and publicart, and she was also involved in implementing green initia-tives across the city. Before working for the city, she was apartner in Marren & Newman Architects.

Adding to the geographic diversity is Eugene Asse, thefounder and dean of the Moscow School of Architecture. He isone of several speakers from Russia on the program. Otherspeakers come from Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands,Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Serbia.

Prague, of course, won’t be left out. Prague Mayor TomášHudeček will help to open the con-ference. He has studied urban devel-opment and especially urbantransportation. Other Prague speak-ers come from City Hall as well asthe private sector.

In the long term, Barry wants reSiteto be more than just an annual event.Negotiations are under way for coop-eration with other cities in the regionsuch as Kraków and Belgrade. “

We are in the process right now of putting together aEuropean Union grant [proposal] that would expand reSite 100times. … We want to do that by traveling and making partners,”Barry said. In the long term, he hopes to transform reSite froman events-oriented organization into a think tank on urbandevelopment. g

URBANPLANNINGTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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THE NEW FORUM KARLIN WILL HOST RESITE AS ITS FIRST MAJOR EVENT. IMAGE FORUM KARLIN

http://www.praguepost.com/events/week.listevents/2014

http://www.ccp.cz/

Construction is now taking place of a majoroffice and retail development in the north-west of Prague not far from the city’s airport.The key attractions of the Blox project inPrague 6, according to its developer, include

the use of the latest technology in the building, the scheme’seco-credentials, and the location in Prague 6.

The eight-story project, which is the work of Prague-basedBPD Development, sits next to the well-known HotelDiplomat. As well as having nearly 16,300 square meters ofoffice space spread over seven of its stories, the L-shapedbuilding will also have nearly 1,200 sqm of retail outlets on

the ground floor, plus restaurants.

The project was designed by local firm DaM Architects andit counts among its neighbors PPF Gate, a 16,800 squaremeter office complex that was another BPD Developmentproject. There is another scheme in the pipeline for the area,Telehouse, which will offer 20,000 sqm of office space.

According to the developer, Blox tenants will be able tohave offices that are open plan, divided or some combinationof the two. Many of the large windows in the building can beopened, and external sun blinds should help to reduce air-conditioning costs during the summer.

A new kidon the Bloxis taking shapeBuilders are currently crafting an office and retail project in thenorthwest of Prague

NOWBUILDINGTEXT DANIEL BARDSLEY

18

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT OF THE BLOX MIXED-USE PROJECT

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A building management system monitors energy consump-tion of the building as a whole and of each rental unit, and airquality is also assessed.

“The building is equipped with the most modern technolo-gy, which constantly monitors the quality of fresh air andensures a comfortable climate for working, and of courseindividual temperature regulation is possible,” the developersaid in a statement. There is separate control of air condition-ing in “office modules” in the building. A diesel generator canprovide back-up power supplies in the event of an outage.

Units ranging in size from 200 sqm to a whole floor ofabout 2,700 sqm will be offered, with office units having toi-lets and fully equipped kitchenettes.

Access will be by magnetic card, with the developers sayingthis will offer a “high-quality” way of ensuring the develop-ment offers a safe working environment.

A three-story car parking area with space for 225 vehicles,along with extensive storage space, will be located under-neath Blox.

The development will include bicycle storage with lockersand showers, and the building will also have seven elevators,

three of which are suitable for carrying goods.

Anti-noise barriers will also help to keep the developmentquieter than might be expected given that there is a busyroad directly in front. A 50 sqm park beside the building withmature trees should help to make it a more attractive envi-ronment.

The project is designed to achieve an “outstanding” ratingby the sustainability assessment program BREEAM, known infull as the Building Research Establishment EnvironmentalAssessment Methodology. This UK-based program is one ofthe two main environmental rating programs used in theCzech Republic, the other being the United States’Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

KEY UPSIDES OF THE LOCATION, ACCORDING TO BPD

Development, are that a university campus, which includesCzech Technical University in Prague, is accessible close byon foot. Václav Havel Airport Prague is 12 minutes away, withthe 119 bus going directly to the terminal buildings, while theDejvická metro stop, a terminal station on line A, is nearby.The city center is only about 10 minutes away by car or pub-lic transport. g

- Daniel Bardsley can be reached at [email protected]


BLOX IS NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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For the moment, it is just an empty plot of land over-looked by some of Prague’s most notable officedevelopments. But this bare brownfield site inPankrác in Prague 4 is set to be transformed by theconstruction of what could end up being the city’s

greenest building.

Skanska plans to develop a building of around 16,000 squaremeters opposite its multiple award-winning City Green Courtdevelopment, which showcases a string of green technologiesaimed at cutting costs and reducing the building’s environmen-tal impact.

As with City Green Court, for which Skanska itself becamethe first tenant when it moved in during November 2012, the

new project is being designed by the celebrated Americanarchitect Richard Meier, who has also designed other officebuildings in the area.

Václav Matoušek, a project manager at Skanska, said thecompany “definitely wants to deliver a better building” thanCity Green Court, with the latest technology likely to be incor-porated to cut energy and water use.

Matoušek said however that it was “hard to say” when con-struction of the new building would start.

“We’re going through the permit procedure, which is difficultin the Czech Republic,” he told the Prague Post at a SwissManagement Forum event held at City Green Court.

City Green Courtto have a companionNew project planned beside prize-winning Skanska development

NEWDEVELOPMENTSTEXT & PHOTOS DANIEL BARDSLEY

20

SKANSKA PROJECT MANAGER VÁCLAV MATOUŠEK SAID HIS COMPANY IS NOW IN SEEKING PERMITS.

City Green Court has won a number of awards, including aprize from the World Green Building Council’s Leadership inBuilding Design and Performance category.

Although the 16,300 sqm eight-story building, which hasaccountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as its anchor ten-ant, is now celebrated for pioneering green technology in theCzech Republic, its development was not all plain sailing.

It was originally a project of ECM Real Estate Investments, acompany that fell into difficulties after the financial crisis hit theproperty sector. The firm ultimately went bankrupt.

Skanksa, which is involved in projects in the Czech Republicand Switzerland, but which is ultimately based in Sweden,bought the building in 2010 and undertook a heavy redesign.

“When we bought the building, it looked different. We had sixmonths to decide what we wanted. It did not meet our greenstandards,” said Matoušek, speaking to the forum attendees.

“The original project we threw away. We just left the length,width and height and we did the rest from scratch.”

Central to the redesign was the incorporation of eco-friendlyfeatures such as waterless urinals, showers that use filteredrainwater, lights that cut energy use, reduced heating needsand natural ventilation.

“We [also] have cooling beams all over the place. It’s Swedish

technology. It’s becomeextremely popular,” addedMatoušek.

“We capture rainwater, fil-ter it and store it. We use itfor cooling, we use it for irri-gation. We use dry urinals.We have external shading.”

Overall, Matoušek saidenergy costs in the building,which Skanska sold toGerman-based DekaImmobilien Investment in2012, were about $1 less persquare meter per month as aresult of Skanska’s redesign,an amount that when addedup is “huge.”

The work also helped theproject to become the firstcommercial building in the

Czech Republic to secure platinum certification from theLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of theUS Green Building Council.

Despite the string of green features, according to Matoušekthe cost of the building was only increased by about 4 percent.He said the company’s experience with environmentally friend-ly developments meant it was able to incorporate eco technol-ogy at reasonable cost.

The building’s green credentials extend beyond technologythat reduces energy and water use. There are also air filters tohelp ensure that the staff working in the complex does nothave to inhale pollutants. In addition, during construction, pref-erence was given to locally produced materials.

“Usually, people use stone from China. People there work inhorrendous conditions and it’s transported over long distances,yet it’s still much cheaper. But we decided to go for granitefrom the Liberec region,” said Matoušek.

The construction process itself was designed to reduce theimpact on the environment, with about 90 percent of the wasteproduced being recycled or reused. To complete the greentheme, there is also a large olive tree in the lobby.

“Our project is famous. That’s great for us, for all our occu-piers, for the environment,” said Matoušek. g



ANOTHER ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BUILDINGIS BEING PLANNED TO BE A NEIGHBOR TO THE

EXISTING CITY GREEN COURT.



Real estate investors and tenants are favoring proj-ects that incorporate green technology, makingthe construction of environmentally friendly build-ings increasingly cost effective, according to aCzech-based property specialist.

Jürg Zwahlen, a senior director at the property consultantsCBRE in the Czech Republic, said at a recent SwissManagement Forum event that low energy consumption was amajor attraction to both buyers of commercial property andcompanies interested in taking space.

“Green building is not peanuts for idealists. It’s relevant forsociety. … Green buildings make sense economically,” he said.

In the Czech Republic, a total of 28 percent of energy con-

sumption is accounted for by buildings, so any efforts to makebuildings greener could have a significant impact on total ener-gy use in the nation, Zwahlen suggested.

Just simple measures to reduce energy use in existing build-ings can easily cut consumption by “10 to 15 percent.”

When green technology is included from the initial designstage, according to Zwahlen energy savings from 20 percent toas much as 60 percent can be achieved.

“The technologies we need to build sustainably now exist.There are huge issues with electric cars [over their] range.There’s a technology jump that doesn’t fulfill today’s needs. Inbuilding technologies [by contrast], the technologies are

Green buildings‘more in demand from tenants’

Certification programs encourage interest in projects

GOINGGREENTEXT DANIEL BARDSLEY

22

JÜRG ZWAHLEN, A SENIORDIRECTOR AT THE PROPERTY

CONSULTANTS CBRE, DISCUSSESGREEN BUILDINGS

already in place and they’re still improving,” he said.

“It’s absolutely no problem technically to build a zero energybuilding. It was technically possible 20 years ago. Today it’spossible to build positive energy buildings – buildings that cre-ate more energy than they use. It’s not always economical, butwe do not have the technical problems to build green.”

He said companies were advised to “have a very careful lookat this” and to focus investments on properties with reducedenergy use and with other green features.

Developers should, he suggested, consider the longer termbenefits of using green technology in buildings. Tenants cansave significant sums on energy bills, making green commer-cial property easier to let, resulting in, he said, “dramaticallylower vacancy rates.”

Tenants tend to be willing to pay only lower rents whenbuildings have higher energy costs, according to Zwahlen.

“I believe it’s a trend and it will go on. I’m convinced greenstandards pay back long term,” he said, adding that even initialcosts could be managed by careful design to, for example,make maximum use of sunlight.

“Design and construction costs do not necessarily have tobe higher when you build green. … A lot of these solutions

don’t cost more.”

The total number of buildings in the Czech Republic receiv-ing some form of sustainability certification is said to haveincreased significantly.

The two main green building certification programs, theLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) fromthe United States and Building Research EstablishmentEnvironmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), developedin the United Kingdom, are roughly equally popular in theCzech Republic, according to Zwahlen.

“What’s clear is that it’s a trend. In the ’90s, there was a timewhen it was one building per year [being certified]. It’s gone updramatically,” he said.

“The developer that builds a building today, a certified build-ing, for sure gets a higher price when he sells it.”

CBRE manages about 1.2 million square meters of officespace in Prague, which works out at around 15 percent of thetotal space in the capital. g



ČSOB’S PRAGUE HEADQUARTERS IN RADLICE WAS THE FIRSTLEED-CERTIFIED BUILDING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC



Verdictawaited on Flower House

Developers are awaiting the decision of the Prague authorities overwhether the controversial demolition of a prominent building in WenceslasSquare will be allowed to proceed.

LEGALNEWSTEXT & PHOTOS DANIEL BARDSLEY

24

AUTHORITIES CONSIDERING APPEALOVER CONTROVERSIAL

WENCESLAS SQUAREDEMOLITION AND REDEVELOPMENT

Flow East hopes to knock down Wenceslas Square47 and construct in its place Květinový dům orFlower House, but campaigners have been keen topreserve the existing building. An appeal waslodged against the demolition and three applicants

have appealed against a zoning permit linked to the develop-ment. The last permit was lodged Dec. 19, and with the construc-tion office of the Prague Magistrate having a maximum of sixmonths to deal with appeals, a decision is likely to come soon.

“We are still waiting for the decision on the appeals [lodged]at the end of last year … [The decision] could be from todayuntil June,” Martin Šubrt, a spokesman for Flow East, told thePrague Post.

If it goes ahead, construction of Flower House would takeabout 18 months and the whole project would cost around 2

billion Kč if it goes ahead. The current Wenceslas Square 47building, which sits on the corner with Opletalova street, datesback to 1880, when it was built in a neo-Renaissance styleresembling the National Museum.

However, it was remodeled in 1920 and this work, accordingto supporters of the proposed redevelopment, caused thebuilding to lose much of its architectural value. There are alsosaid to be structural problems with the current building.

Although final permission to demolish Wenceslas Square 47has yet to be given, an adjacent building on Opletalova streethas already been knocked down. Its façade had been protect-ed and it remained after the rest of the building had been flat-tened, although it too has now been demolished.

James Woolf, the chairman of Flow East, told the Prague Postby email last year that the history of Wenceslas Square hasseen ongoing change and this should be allowed to continue.

“Wenceslas Square has been developing for hundreds of years;it is traditionally the square with radically different designs,” hesaid. “Our building is simply a continuation of that progress, andwe are sure that in just a few years everyone will recognize whatwe have contributed to Prague and to architecture.”

In mid-2013 it had appeared as though the project did nothave to clear any more hurdles when a review over anOctober 2012 Culture Ministry decision not to the area as ahistoric site was ended.

There had been previous decisions and counter-decisionsover the project, with City Hall approving the project in June2010 before the Culture Ministry reversed this decision, onlyfor the then-culture minister, Jiří Besser, to give the schemethe go ahead. The developers said last year that consultationshad already lasted seven years, taking in the general public,architects, NGOs and local authorities, among others.

Václav Havel, the late former Czech president, was amongthose who expressed opposition to the proposed develop-ment, describing it as a “monster.” Klub Za starou Prahu (Clubfor Old Prague) has also been against the scheme.

The developers have said however that 1,500 people wouldwork in the new building and help regenerate that part of thesquare, which has had problems with nightclub hawkers, pros-titutes and other less desirable people.

Wenceslas Square, as well as playing host to some of themost significant events in 20th-century Czech history, was,during medieval times, a place where horses were traded, giv-ing rise to its former name, Horse Market. g


THE EXISTING BUILDING AT WENCESLAS SQUARE 47LACKS LANDMARK PROTECTION AND MAY BE TORNDOWN. THE PLANNED KVĚTINOVÝ DŮM IS A MODERNBUILDING WITH A GLASS FAÇADE.


CEE INVESTMENTvolumes to continue climbing

CEE INVESTMENTvolumes to continue climbing

The Central and Eastern Europe property markets continue tosolidify their position as a place to invest for long term growthfollowing a rise in investment volumes across the region...

REGIONALTRENDSTEXT NEWS DESK

26

This rise is underpinned by sustainable economicgrowth outlooks, according to a new report byreal estate service firm Colliers International.2013 proved to be an interesting year with a fewsurprise events along the way. While there was a

sense of weakness in some markets,other markets provided encouragingsigns for the year ahead.

“We expected to see improvement ineconomic and business sentiment dur-ing 2013, and, it certainly appears theEuropean economy has continued torecover from its recessionary trough atthe end of 2012. In particular, thoseeconomies that were underperformingin 2011 and 2012 – notably those inSouth Eastern Europe - showed suresigns of recovery,” Damian Harrington,regional director of research for ColliersInternational, Eastern Europe, said in apress release.

Global economic growth is forecastto increase over the next two years, butthe source of growth is shifting fromChina to the US and UK. From a widerperspective, lower growth in China willimpact the European export markets,mainly Germany and the Core ‘CE4’countries of the Czech Republic,Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. On theplus side, this will position the SouthEastern European countries to poten-tially benefit from growth in low costmanufacturing FDI and an increase intargeted real estate investment,according to Colliers.

In 2013 the firm expected investorsto continue to seek out assets in thetier 1 markets of Russia, Poland, theCzech Republic and to a degree inSlovakia. Investor interest in the tier 2countries of Hungary, Romania,Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia also beganto filter through during the second halfof 2013 but this is not likely to translateinto deals until Q2 or Q3 of 2014, thefirm said.

In 2013, overall investment volumesfor the Central and Eastern Europeanregion were € 11.14 billion, 26 percent

more than 2012. Colliers sees a further rise in transactionalvolumes during 2014 as extremely likely. Although invest-ment volumes dipped in 2009 as a result of the crisis, theyhave been recovering and are almost back at pre-crisis levels.



In all likelihood, a best-case scenario would see 2014 invest-ment volumes close to the cyclical peak of 2007 at circa € 16billion and by 2016 will potentially surpass it, setting a new all-time high in terms of transactional volumes for the regionwhen it reaches almost € 19 billion, Colliers projected.

This will be driven by growth in investment from a range ofinvestors including Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) and themore traditional pension funds and insurers who are lookingto take on a greater volume of real estate within their currentportfolios. At the other end of the scale are the private sectorbuyers who Colliers anticipates will be increasingly activeseeking out opportunities.

There’s a significant amount of untapped potential with a num-ber of the markets outside the core region yet to fully secureinvestor interest, Colliers states. A good example is Romania – itlooks best positioned out of the tier 2 markets to see an immedi-ate uplift in investment activity in 2014 though won’t reachmaturity until cost-effective debt availability improves.

The firm anticipates the Czech Republic to post good trans-actional results for 2014 and the region’s behemoths, Polandand Russia will also dominate. A worst case scenario wouldsee investment volumes dip in the first half of 2014 as a resultof buyer concerns over the current Russia/Ukraine conflict.Whilst the Ukrainian investment market is yet to materialize, a weakening of investment sentiment to Russia is possiblewhich would temper total regional volumes.

A more modest mid-case scenario, factoring in limited prod-uct choice and some transparency/ pricing concerns in thetier 2 markets could slow down transaction activity across theregion over the next 2-3 years, despite an increase in buyerappetite. Overall, however, Colliers expects to see an increasein investment volumes in the region as investors seek positiveyields in markets with rental and capital value upside.

Colliers International is a global leader in commercial realestate services, with over 13,500 professionals operating outof more than 482 offices in 62 countries. A subsidiary ofFirstService Corporation, Colliers International delivers a fullrange of services to real estate users, owners and investorsworldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage,property and asset management, hotel investment sales andconsulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mort-gage banking and insightful research.

The latest annual survey by the Lipsey Company rankedColliers International as the second-most recognized commer-cial real estate firm in the world. Colliers International hasbeen active in the Czech market since 1994. g


2828

COLLIERS SAYS INVESTORS WILLCONTINUE TO SHOW INTEREST INTIER 1 MARKETS SUCH AS POLAND.


PROPERTYACQUISITIONSTEXT NEWS DESK

Deal for building in Prague 4’s Vyšehrad neighborhood is one of the year’s largest

ČSnemovitostní fondbuys QUBIX administrative building


ČS nemovitostní fond bought the QUBIX 4 Prahabuilding, a mixed-use building with a prevalenceof office space and LEED Platinum environmentalcertification, at the end of March. The building isin Prague 4, near the Vyšehrad metro station. It is

an investment of approximately 950 milliion Kč, making it oneof the largest transactions on the Czech real estate market sofar this year. ČS nemovitostní fond is managed by investmentcompany REICO, part of the Česká spořitelna Financial Group.

The fund bought the QUBIX 4 Praha building from the S+BCEE Projektenwicklungs GmbH development company, amember of the Austrian S+B Gruppe AG group, which devel-ops first-class commercial properties in markets in Central andEastern European cities including Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, andBucharest.

“By buying QUBIX, we have expanded the number of proper-ties in our fund’s portfolio to a total of nine buildings. With thisacquisition, their aggregate market value now exceeds 5 bil-lion Kč. The nature of the transaction corresponds to thefund’s investment strategy, i.e., of investing primarily in premi-um office buildings that have sustainable value.

This is a very good locale near the city centre which is easilyaccessible by road,” Martin Skalický, Chairman of the

Management Board of the REICO ČS investment company,said in a press release.

“From the point of view of conservative investments, themost frequently used investment assets are bonds and realproperties. Currently, premium commercial properties yieldsignificantly more than safer government bonds, whose yield,unlike that of real estate, has been strongly influenced by theprevailing low interest rates.

Many investors are therefore putting increased amounts

PROPERTYACQUISITIONSTEXT NEWS DESK

30

THE QUBIX 4 PRAHA BUILDING IN VYŠEHRAD HAS BEEN SOLD.

“BY BUYING QUBIX, WE HAVE EXPAND-ED THE NUMBER OF PROPERTIES IN

OUR FUND’S PORTFOLIO TO A TOTAL OFNINE BUILDINGS. WITH THIS ACQUISI-

TION, THEIR AGGREGATE MARKETVALUE NOW EXCEEDS 5 BILLION KČ.THE NATURE OF THE TRANSACTION

CORRESPONDS TO THE FUND’S INVEST-MENT STRATEGY, I.E., OF INVESTING

PRIMARILY IN PREMIUM OFFICE BUILD-INGS THAT HAVE SUSTAINABLE VALUE.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD LOCALE NEARTHE CITY CENTRE WHICH IS EASILY

ACCESSIBLE BY ROAD,”

particularly into commercial properties,” Skalický added.

The total leasable area of the property is nearly 14,000square meters, and approximately 93 percent of the leasablepremises are occupied. The largest tenants of the QUBIX 4Praha building are the Swiss company ABB, an internationalsupplier of technologies for the energy business; BigBoard, a company in the outdoor advertising business; TMF, whichprovides accounting and advisory services; and Adecco, activein the sphere of comprehensive personnel services.

“It is a pleasure for me to cooperate with a strong investorwho appreciates the high standard of quality of this buildingand shares the same philosophy. Our company focuses onhigh-level development in major cities, which generates addedvalue both for property owners and tenants,” said Franz PaulBauer, CEO of S+B Gruppe AG.

In terms of property management, the operation of thebuilding will continue to be the responsibility of the buildingdeveloper, who will, on the basis of the transactional structureagreed, take care of leasing the remaining available premisesand of the efficient process of taking the building over underthe management of the REICO ČS investment company.

ČS nemovitostní fond, managed by REICO ČS investment

company, was established in 2007, and in terms of investmentfocus and equity capital is the only Czech fund of this type onour market. It targets primarily conservative investors and inthe long-term it aims for a yield at a level above that of gov-ernment bonds.

ČS nemovitostní fond focuses primarily on completed com-mercial properties with a sustainable value. With this newacquisition, the number of properties in the fund’s portfoliogrows to nine. Aside from five properties in Prague, it also hasbuildings in Brno, Ostrava, České Budějovice, and Bratislava.

Česká spořitelna is the largest bank in the Czech Republic,according to its press release. More than 5 million clients useits services including individuals, small and medium-sizedenterprises, and municipalities. It also finances large corpora-tions and provides financial market services. Česká spořitelnahas been a member of Erste Group since 2000.

Erste Group is the leading financial services provider in theEastern part of the EU. It has approximately 46,000 employeesserves 16.5 million clients in around 2,900 branches in sevencountries: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania,Hungary, Croatia, Serbia. As of year end 2013, Erste Group hasreached 199.9 billion euros in total assets, a net profit of 61million euros and a cost-income-ratio of 52.5 percent. g


INTERIOR OF THE QUBIX 4 PRAHA BUILDING


CBRE:Czech Republic in 10th placefor retail attractiveness Retailers are starting their expansion plans now that crisis seems to be over


32

GERMANY IS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE LOCATION FOR THE GLOBAL RETAIL MARKET.

In terms of the global retail market, Germany is by farthe most attractive country as it offers the opportunityto target 20 large cities in one market. It is ahead ofFrance, UK, Austria and China. More than 40 percent ofretailers globally plan to open a store in Germany in

2014 and this figure increases to 70 percent when taking intoaccount only European retailers, according to the latestresearch from global property advisor CBRE. Germany is alsothe second-most important target for American retailers.

The research was published in a report called How Activeare Retailers Globally?, which is now in its fifth edition. Morethan 130 retailers, based in Europe, the Americas and AsiaPacific were surveyed to explore the number of stores theyare looking to open and the markets being targeted in 2014.Retailers were also asked about their plans to enhance theironline transactional capabilities.

“The Czech Republic has been ranked 10th among coun-tries where retailers are aiming to open stores. The [CBRE]study indicates that the Czech Republic is attractive for retail-ers from all segments, however, dominated by fashion of allprice categories. In view of country of origin, the CzechRepublic is the most attractive for European retailers,”Veronika Tebichová, head of retail agency in CBRE CzechRepublic said in a press release.

Trust in the global retail market has increased, according tothe research. The amount of retailers with large-scale expan-sion plans has increased dramatically in 2014 revealing arenewed confidence in the global retail market. Some 35 per-cent of retailers plan to expand their store portfolio by 40 ormore stores over the next 12 months. Of those retailers look-

ing to open 40stores or more,mid-range fash-ion and valuefashion are themost active sec-tors accountingfor one-third ofthe total each.

“An upturn inconsumer confi-dence andrenewed vigor in

the global retailer community has put large scale expansionfirmly back on the agenda. While the pace of internationalgrowth has slowed in recent years, retailers are making cleartheir intention to materially invest in their store networksthroughout 2014,” said Peter Gold, head of cross-borderretail, CBRE.

“Their preference for a wide range of markets highlights thecontinued importance of cross-border growth. Germany is ontop as the market of greatest interest to retailers this year. Thecountries continued appeal reflects the strength and scale ofthe economy and the successes of several big brand newentrants,” said Peter Gold, head of cross-border retail, CBRE,”he added.

American retailers have the most extensive large-scaleexpansion plans with 47 percent of retailers surveyed lookingto open more than 40 stores in 2014. The US is the largestretail market in the region and unsurprisingly the most impor-tant target market for retailers based in the Americas. Some43 percent are aiming to expand there in 2014.

However, due to the maturity and competition of domesticmarkets, many North American retailers are seeking to growtheir global businesses, providing the opportunity to expandon a large scale. US retailers are targeting European marketsin particular with 19 percent looking to open stores inGermany this year and 14 percent in the UK, Canada, Franceand Austria.

“As well as focusing on their home markets, American retail-ers in 2014 are increasing looking beyond their domestic bor-ders. Several major US retailers have been active acrossEurope in recent years. These brands realize that they cannotexpand indefinitely in a competitive domestic market and thatinternational growth is an imperative,” said David Close, direc-tor of cross-border retail for the EMEA region.

“With consumer confidence returning across many marketsin Europe, North American retailers feel that this is the righttime to capitalise on a largely untapped growth potential. USretailers are progressively developing their store networks andglobal offering - this trend will continue to grow and diversifyin 2014 and beyond,” he added.

CBRE Group, a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company head-quartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercialreal estate services and investment firm in terms of 2013 rev-enue. The Company has approximately 44,000 employeesexcluding affiliates, and serves real estate owners, investorsand occupiers through approximately 350 offices (excludingaffiliates) worldwide.

CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for propertysales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities andproject management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valua-tion; development services; investment management; andresearch and consulting. In the Czech Republic, CBRE has 350employees and manages nearly 200 commercial buildingswith total area almost 1.2 million square meters. g


Target markets for 2014RANK COUNTRY PERCENT1 GERMANY 40

2 FRANCE 26

3 UNITED KINGDOM 25

4 AUSTRIA 22

4 CHINA 22

6 SWITZERLAND 20

7 BELGIUM 18

8 SPAIN 17

8 ITALY 17

10 CZECH REPUBLIC 16

10 SWEDEN 16


Revitalization of a 6.5 hectare plot of land into theLetňany Business Park, located near the PVAExpo Praha exhibition grounds, has just started.The area is only 10 minutes away from metro lineC and so far has not been used. This site is locat-

ed in a growing suburb of Prague with 1,500 new apartmentsrecently completed across the road from this new businesspark. A private investor has commenced the construction ofthe first scheme of its kind, intended for storage, office andretail purposes.

“As the only project in Letňany currently under construc-tion, this development offers small, modern units for lease.

The developer’s goal is not to build large storage halls. Instead,the design should be reminiscent of small storage units withan office element and feature partly glass facades.

The development is expected to create new jobs in thisarea,” Laurent Jechoux from Cushman & Wakefield’s industrialletting team, which leases the premises, said in a press release.

One half of the project is currently preleased for mixed use.The companies that plan on locating their facilities thereinclude Avis Color, a Czech paint retailer, Safemed medicaldevices, a German medical supply producer, and AGCAutomotive Replacement Glass Czech, which offers automo-

Brownfieldin Letňany, to berevitalizedConstruction on first building of the Letňany Business Park has begun

PRAGUEDEVELOPMENTSTEXT NEWS DESK

34

COMPUTER CONCEPT OF LETŇANY BUSINESS PARK.

bile glass repair services.

The reason the investor has chosen to revitalize the areaand why he has opted for SBU is because they believe thatsmall and medium-sized businesses need this type of flexibilityto grow and have a multipurpose premises incorporatingoffice, storage and even retail. The type of companies it isattracting are local businesses that want modern facilities at areasonable cost.

The Letňany Business Park project will consist of five struc-tures with a total leasable area of 26,000 square meters. Thefirst building whose construction has just begun will beapproximately 2,800 sgm large. Its opening is scheduled forthe autumn of this year.

Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately heldcommercial real estate services firm. The company advises

and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancyand investment, and has established a preeminent position inthe world’s major markets, as evidenced by its frequentinvolvement in many of the most significant property leases,sales and management assignments. Founded in 1917, it hasapproximately 250 offices in 60 countries, employing morethan 16,000 professionals.

It offers a complete range of services for all property types,including leasing, sales and acquisitions, equity, debt andstructured finance, corporate finance and investment banking,corporate services, property management, facilities manage-ment, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firmhas nearly $4 billion in assets under management globally.

The firm entered the Czech market in 1993 and employs128 people in its Prague and Bratislava office. g


“AS THE ONLY PROJECT IN LETŇANYCURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION,THIS DEVELOPMENT OFFERS SMALL,

MODERN UNITS FOR LEASE. THE DEVELOPER’S GOAL IS NOT TO

BUILD LARGE STORAGE HALLS.INSTEAD, THE DESIGN SHOULD BEREMINISCENT OF SMALL STORAGE

UNITS WITH AN OFFICE ELEMENT AND FEATURE PARTLY GLASS FACADES.

THE DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED TO CREATE NEW JOBS IN THIS AREA,”


Europa Capital, on behalf of Europa Fund IV,announces the launch of its prime logistics ware-housing site to the west of Prague which will becalled Westgate Park Rudna. The site is promi-nently situated at the first exit of the D5 highway,

which leads west to Plzeň and Germany and east to thePrague ring road.

The project benefits from excellent transport links with thePrague-Zličín metro station nearby and a frequent bus serviceto central Prague with a bus stop situated on the site. Prague

Václav Havel International airport can also be easily reachedby car.

The site includes an existing warehouse building construct-ed in 1997 that provides 32,000 square meters, including13,000 sqm of dry storage space with 10 meter clear heights,7,600 sqm of fully equipped modern chilled and frozen areasand 6,000 sqm of office space.

The building will soon be comprehensively refurbished inorder to provide a flexible modern first class facility.

EuropaCapital launches Westgate Park

PRAGUEDEVELOPMENTSTEXT NEWS DESK

36

SITE FORMERLY OWNEDAND OPERATED BY BILLA

HAS BEEN REBRANDEDAND REFURBISHED

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTOF WESTGATE PARK RUDNA

In addition, there are 15 hectares of development land, witha valid planning permit currently in place allowing for an addi-tional 34,000 sqm of new, high quality warehousing. A sepa-rate self contained plot of land provides further potential for20,000 sqm of new warehousing or retail warehouse space.

Charnwood has been appointed as the local asset managerwith a mandate from Europa to implement all aspects of theproject business plan.

“To date, the site has always been owner occupied by thesupermarket operator, Billa, and has never been offered to themarket as a leasing prospect. A refurbishment of the existingbuilding is planned to start this month and provides an oppor-tunity for us to rebrand it as Westgate Park Rudna,” DavidBouck, managing director of Charnwood, said in a press release.

“The rebranding will distinguish it from the market competi-tion and give it a recognizable individual identity. This is anexciting project and represents a rare opportunity to enhanceand create a new distribution park in one of the best Praguelocations,” he added.

James Pennington, asset manager at Europa Capital, stated“We believe Westgate Park Rudna is one of the best situatedand accessible warehouse locations to the West of Prague thatis immediately available and can provide prospective occu-piers with a bespoke solution. We are already seeing a stronglevel of interest in both the existing warehouse and the sur-rounding land which we will work closely with Charnwood inorder to unlock the sites total potential.”

Since 1995, Europa Capital’s Principals have collectivelyraised 7 real estate funds and committed to over 75 transac-tions totalling some 7.0 billion eeuros across 18 Europeancountries. Europa Capital is a member of The RockefellerGroup ("RGI"). RGI is a strategic investor alongsideManagement. Europa Capital Partners LLP and EuropaCapital LLP are authorized and regulated by the FinancialConduct Authority.

The Charnwood Company is a Prague-based owner, devel-oper, investor, and asset manager of institutional real estate.The company maintains a strong local team of qualified pro-fessionals with proven experience in commercial real estatein Czech Republic. However, it was remodeled in 1920 andthis work, according to supporters of the proposed redevelop-ment, caused the building to lose much of its architecturalvalue. There are also said to be structural problems with thecurrent building.

Although final permission to demolish Wenceslas Square 47has yet to be given, an adjacent building on Opletalova street

has already been knocked down. Its façade had been protect-ed and it remained after the rest of the building had been flat-tened, although it too has now been demolished.

James Woolf, the chairman of Flow East, told the Prague Postby email last year that the history of Wenceslas Square hasseen ongoing change and this should be allowed to continue.

“Wenceslas Square has been developing for hundreds of years;it is traditionally the square with radically different designs,” hesaid. “Our building is simply a continuation of that progress, andwe are sure that in just a few years everyone will recognize whatwe have contributed to Prague and to architecture.”

In mid-2013 it had appeared as though the project did nothave to clear any more hurdles when a review over anOctober 2012 Culture Ministry decision not to the area as ahistoric site was ended.

There had been previous decisions and counter-decisionsover the project, with City Hall approving the project in June2010 before the Culture Ministry reversed this decision, onlyfor the then-culture minister, Jiří Besser, to give the schemethe go ahead. The developers said last year that consultationshad already lasted seven years, taking in the general public,architects, NGOs and local authorities, among others.

Václav Havel, the late former Czech president, was amongthose who expressed opposition to the proposed develop-ment, describing it as a “monster.” Klub Za starou Prahu (Clubfor Old Prague) has also been against the scheme.

The developers have said however that 1,500 people wouldwork in the new building and help regenerate that part of thesquare, which has had problems with nightclub hawkers, pros-titutes and other less desirable people.

Wenceslas Square, as well as playing host to some of themost significant events in 20th-century Czech history, was,during medieval times, a place where horses were traded, giv-ing rise to its former name, Horse Market. g


“THE REBRANDING WILL DISTINGUISHIT FROM THE MARKET COMPETITION

AND GIVE IT A RECOGNIZABLE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY. THIS IS AN

EXCITING PROJECT AND REPRESENTS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCEAND CREATE A NEW DISTRIBUTION

PARK IN ONE OF THE BEST PRAGUE LOCATIONS.”


Softball tournament proceeds are gifted to Thomayer University Hospital in Prague to support a hospital schooling facility at the Children’s Neurology and Psychiatry depart-ments. Besides supporting teacher salaries, funds also go towards engaging teaching material that make classes more fun.

www.ppef.cz

may 3-4, 2014may 3-4, 2014

heavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hitters

may 3-4, 2014

heavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hittersheavy hittersheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitterheavy hittersheavy hitterheavy hitters3 nd International

Charity Softball Tournament3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International 3 nd International

Charity Softball TournamentCharity Softball Tournament2

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