NO 9 WENCESLAS SQUARE GETTING A FACELIFT
McDonalds has temporarily closed its restaurant at the bottom of Wenceslas Square, much to the dismay of the expats who work around the area. The building is undergoing a renovation, and the fast food restaurant will reopen by the end of this year. It will occupy 800 sqm in a different part of the building, with a McCafe on the ground level and a restaurant in the basement. A new 2,000 sqm retail unit will be created on the first three floors of the building. Jan Kotrbáček of Retail Services in Cushman & Wakefield, which represents the landlord, says negotiations with a few international fashion brands are underway. The remaining 2,000 sqm of the building will be refurbished into high profile office space. The renovation is expected to be completed by second quarter of 2011. The retail component is scheduled to open earlier – by the end of 2010.
OFFICE TO FOLLOW RETAIL IN NOVÁ KAROLINA
The first phase of the Nová Karolina project in Ostrava finally got underway last month when a syndicate of four banks granted it a €98,475,000 loan. Luboš Kočí, director of Multi Development Group, said this should trigger construction not only on the shopping center, but also on the office portion, to be developed in a joint venture with PasserInvest. Passer started work on the office building a year ago but has been forced to put construction on hold after the foundation slab was completed. The lack of pre-lease did not allow for bank financing to be negotiated.
“Construction-wise we are 11 months ahead of Multi Development, and we are determined to use this time to attract clients to the project,” says PasserInvest CEO Radim Passer. He admits the 24,000 sqm building could be divided into two phases to get construction going. “To secure a 12,000 sqm pre-lease in Ostrava would be almost a miracle. If we divide it into two 12,000 sqm phases, we would be able to cover the 6,000 sqm pre-lease by signing two or three leases.” Passer plans to redesign the building and believes his company will be able to complete the office part roughly by the same time Multi Development finalizes the shopping mall.
WARSAW EARMARKS MILLIONS TO BUY PLAC DEFILAD PLOTS
Plots on Warsaw’s Plac Defilad are being reclaimed by heirs of their former owners. This trend will soon force the city to purchase the plots to avoid planned investments hitting speed bumps. According to the city hall, up to 30 plots could be reclaimed. Some are located where important projects are supposed to be getting underway in the next couple of years, including the second line of the metro and the Museum of Modern Art. In order to meet the almost certain need to buy the plots in question from former owners or their heirs, the city has earmarked up to PLN 50m (€12.77m) for this purpose. The city hopes to settle the most urgent ownership issues this year.
KRAKÓW WANTS NON-DEVELOPMENT ZONE
Kraków filed a proposal with UNESCO to create a buffer zone that will protect the city’s old town from being overwhelmed by new development in surrounding districts. Such buffer zones are a new requirement for cities wishing to remain on UNESCO’s world heritage list. In Kraków, the danger for corrupting the view is in districts like Zabłocie, Grzegórzki or Ludwinów.
Last year, the new land-use plan that’s under development stirred objections. While it included the necessary buffer zone, it was clear the plan would also allow construction of high-rise buildings in Zabłocie, a mere 2 km from the main square. Completion of the new land-use plan, already in the works for more than two years, has been put off until June, and there’s a chance it will take even longer. Meanwhile, critics argue the old land-use planning traced clearer boundaries between those areas that will remain undeveloped and those earmarked for investment.