SEPTEMBER 2014

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Jindřišská 16C lears the airin Prague 1

Jindřišská 16C lears the airin Prague 1

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From the outside the newly reconstructed historical buildingJINDŘIŠSKÁ 16, you would not expect what is waiting inside. Theminute you step in you will be astonished. An elegant atrium with abreathtaking green wall opens up before you. This vertical garden,filled with more than 5,000 living plants, represents something oth-ers can only speak of – “100% fresh air for a comfortable andhealthy working environment”.

The combination of stone, glass, and the green wall are an expres-sion of the philosophy of sustainability and represent the harmoniouscoexistence of history with current energy efficiency requirements.The building has received LEED Gold certification currently.

EXCLUSIVITY AND PRESTIGE

The JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16 building offers unique and very impressiveoffice space. Some of the floors of the historical building have stuc-co ceilings and have been fitted with replicas of the original win-dows that incorporate contemporary concepts, such asautomatically switching off the air conditioning system when thewindow is opened. The beautiful staircases have been preserved.History is united with modernity throughout the entire building.

Their unique harmonious union is best reflected in the building’satrium. The new wing is contemporary in style, incorporating metaland glass elements, whilst the historical interior façade retains theoriginal materials – stone and wood.

JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16:Exclusive office spacethat breathes for you

NOWLA UNC HINGTEXT SPECIAL TO THE POST

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 3

Do you know why you get such frequent headaches? Why you feel so tired?Could it be because you suffer from a lack of fresh air at your placeof work? This situation is easy to change. You only need one thing –to work somewhere with a supply of 100% fresh air.

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The “good feeling” factor of office buildings continues to playan increasingly important role. The number of people whocombine their trip to work with their morning run or who cycleto work is rising. The JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16 building provides anabove-standard solution for even the most demanding tenants,including bicycle storage facilities, showers, and lockable lock-ers. The needs of those who prefer travelling by car are alsotaken into account. The building is located at the very heart ofPrague. Parking capacity for 24 cars is provided. The car parkentrance is located on Politických vězňů street and the lot isequipped with an automatic parking system.

IDENTITY EXPRESSED THROUGH PREMISES

The JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16 building offers 6,621 square metres of“Class A” office and retail space in the historical and modernparts of the building. All of the floors provide the ability to useeither a split layout or an intelligent open-space arrangementfor your offices. They also all have a fully equipped kitchenette.The objective was to use the best quality materials and themost modern technology to ensure the highest possible stan-dards. The sophisticated building management system guaran-tees the full transparency of operating expenses by measuringenergy use individually for each office unit and the commonareas. It is of course possible to individually set target tempera-

tures for the heating and cooling systems as well as for thehumidity level. A full showroom has been established on thefirst floor, allowing you to see and feel firsthand the exclusivityof the space in the historical part of the building as well as thecontemporary design of the office space in the new part. Justthis experience, with a glass of champagne in hand, makes avisit to the JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16 building worthwhile.

The JINDŘIŠSKÁ 16 building is the ideal choice for the registeredaddress of any company, whether large or small, which is lookingfor a premium location in the city centre, impressive premises pro-viding a healthy environment, and extremely high-quality services.The first retail tenant in the new facility is Deliberti. g

U s e f u l i n f oCOMPLETION DATE: SPRING 2014

TOTAL RENTABLE SPACE: 6,621 SQUARE METRES

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT: 5,887 SQUARE METRES

COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR RENT: 496 SQUARE METRES

STORAGE SPACE: 238 SQUARE METRES

CERTIFICATION: LEED GOLD

VERTICAL GREEN GARDEN: 100% FRESH AIR

DEVELOPER/ INVESTOR: IMMOFINANZ Grou p

ARCHITECT: DaM spol. s r.o.

CONTACT: WWW.JINDRISSKA16.CZ

NOWLA UNC HINGTEXT SPECIAL TO THE POST

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 5

In the broad scope, urban planning in Prague is in agood place. Mark Johnson, head of the urban planningcompany Civitas, was in Prague recently to commenton the city’s future development plans and to takepart in a workshop called Towards a Coherent City

Planning Framework organized by the Prague Institute ofPlanning and Development (IPR Praha).

“It’s not a city of rapid growth; it’s a city of continual

growth,” Johnson told the Prague Post. He was optimisticabout the city’s long-term development plans, which are cur-rently being drawn up. “It’s not quite a plan yet, the analysis isgood. The principles are good,” he said. It was Johnson’s sec-ond recent visit to Prague. He had been here for the reSiteconference, which helped to draw his attention to the city.

The city also is in a good starting place. “You have one ofthe most beautiful cities in the world. Even people who don’t

Urban planner: Mark Johnson sees needfor a young hub in Prague...The Dejvice area could be transformed into a new and vital gate-way for the city

INNERVIEWTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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MARK JOHNSON, HEAD OFTHE URBAN PLANNING

COMPANY CIVITASPHOTO: IPR PRAHA

know anything about Prague make the assumption that who-ever is in charge is very responsible because they haven’truined it. That could be right or could be wrong. The assump-tion is they must be smart people. That tells me that thebrand of Prague includes a sense of responsibility. And that’scultural and environmental responsibility. So one of mypieces of advice was to stick with that theme,” he said.

He stresses the need to improve connectivity between thevarious neighborhoods, but at the same time to be careful notto destroy them. “Neighborhoods here are stable and deserveto remain stable over time,” he said. It is important to increasethe neighborhood’s quality, but not necessarily the density.

An approach he favors is to redevelop brownfield sites andderelict sites first. “There is no need to rush to develop green-fields,” he said.

Green spaces and parks serve as important connections. “Ilike to talk about cities being adaptable and resilient, so thegreen framework needs to be resilient, the cultural frame-work, the social framework and the economic frameworkhave to be resilient,” he said.

Johnson pointed out two very different areas in the citythat were ripe for change. The first is in the core of the city

and the second is more suburban,

The area from Dejvice to Letna Park in Prague 6 couldbecome a vital hub for the city. It already has many tram, busand metro connections. If and when high speed rail going toand from the airport is added, then the Dejvice area wouldbecome a main gateway to the city.

“That core, that boulevard with all that empty land, parkinglot and a football stadium is a big scar right in the heart of thecity and you need to fix it. You need to figure out how todevelop that,” he said.

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 7

“ YOU HAVE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTI-FUL CITIES IN THE WORLD. EVEN PEO-

PLE WHO DON’T KNOW ANYTHINGABOUT PRAGUE MAKE THE ASSUMPTION

THAT WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE IS VERYRESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T

RUINED IT. THAT COULD BE RIGHT ORCOULD BE WRONG. THE ASSUMPTION IS

THEY MUST BE SMART PEOPLE. THATTELLS ME THAT THE BRAND OF PRAGUEINCLUDES A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY.

AND THAT’S CULTURAL AND ENVIRON-MENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. SO ONE OFMY PIECES OF ADVICE WAS TO STICK

WITH THAT THEME,”

In his vision, the access from the roundabout at Dejvicewould be connected more directly to Letna Park and thenlead down and across the Vltava River and into the formerJewish Quarter. He said this could create “a spectacular con-nection and a very important part of the arrival into the city.”

It would be more than just a big street. The surroundingarea should be made attractive toyoung people.

“That boulevard up there couldbecome a new center for technolo-gy and innovation because you cangrow there. You have all the infra-structure,” he said.

“It could be a new hub for youngpeople. It could become a real cen-ter for new economic growthbecause of its connectivity andproximity,” he said, adding that the walk from there to thecenter of the city was a bit long, but it could be made bike-friendly.

“Every city has to find out how to attract young people,” hesaid. If that is not done, the city ceases to function properly.

“You have got to become attractive to young people, and thatis not because of the Internet. That is because they are youngand you are old. The future is theirs,” he said, adding that hedidn’t see a similar place in the city that was being trans-formed into a local high-tech hub.

For this part of the city, the government should have ahand in the process. “I think it is acivic responsibility for governmentto show the initiative of what is pos-sible,” he said.

The plan for the area needs to bemore than just a widened streetwith a few added statues.“Everybody’s got a big boulevard.Go to Paris,” he said.

The second area he looked at wascalled East City, and comprises the

neighborhoods of Dolní Měcholupy, Štěrboholy and Dubeč. Atone time, the metro was supposed to be extended there, butthat is no longer a priority. Tram service remains a possibility.

“In each of these villages especially here on the edge thereshould be a blending of village and nature. It shouldn’t be

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one or the other,” he said.

In this case, the ultimate development plans should be inthe hands of the local people. “You can work with those peo-ple or those villages to talk about what the possibilities are.You don’t just do a plan, you work with them and do someeconomic analysis,” he said.

The plan doesn’t have to have high-rise buildings and highpopulation density to be viable.

“I could show you how you could make more money andbuild bigger parks if it was all single family homes becausethe cost of infrastructure is so low and the cost of develop-ment is so low,” he said.

“Just because you want to have high density it doesn’tmean it is culturally or economically the best thing in everylocation. I believe you could take those villages and add somedensity and expand each village to a point where it becomeseconomical to bring tram service to all of them,” he said.

But without tram service the villages in the area are notvery sustainable because of the reliance on cars. “There is toomuch energy in cars. But if you can get the tram service sud-denly they become connected to the core city and they

become viable as sustainable outliers,” he said.

While Johnson offered some ideas, he favors getting a widearray of input for specific areas that need development inPrague.

“Be very realistic about what’s possible, and then maybeyou should have a design competition and come up with newideas. But you have to set the constraints very hard.Competitions encourage people to break the rules. I do lots ofcompetitions, we always break the rules. You break the rulesto get attention. If you enter a competition and you are notprovocative, you don’t win,” he said.

But this doesn’t make it easier for urban planners who stillhave to do all the hard framework planning first “And thenyou’ll get responsible competitive entries. It doesn’t meanyou can develop it immediately but it moves the ball,” he said.

Johnson has worked around the world on projects rangingfrom rebuilding Kabul to developing the famous concreteviaduct around the Los Angeles River and redeveloping a for-mer airport area in Denver into a neighborhood. g

- Raymond Johnston can be reached at rjohnston@praguepost.com

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 9

MARK JOHNSON THINKS THAT DIFFERENT AREASOF THE CITY ARE RIPE FOR CHANGEPHOTO: IPR PRAHA

Plzeň, in the western part of Bohemia, now has thecountry’s most modern theater. Nové divadlo,which translates to New Theater, opened Sept. 2with a performance of a classic Czech opera, TheBartered Bride.

The theater will be a main focal point when the citybecomes a European Capital of Culture for 2015. ArchitectVladimír Kružík from the architecture and design firm Helikasaid the theater had long been in the planning stages, and itwas just a “happy coincidence” that the theater openedalmost simultaneously with the start of the European Capitalof Culture project.

Kružík said he created a “democratic theater,” but that it hasnothing to do with politics. “It simply means that all the seatsare fairly much equal. There is no presidential loge or mayor’sbox,” he said.

The main hall has 461 seats, and a smaller studio stage canseat 150 patrons.

A steep incline in the main hall gives all of the seats a goodview, and there are no pillars or supports visible to create anobstruction.

The whole building complex, which also includes administra-tive offices in a connected five-story building, was builtbetween 2012 and 2014 in a functionalist style. From thestreet, the main building is quite striking. A concrete sculpture,at 22 meters wide by 14 meters tall and 0.60 meters thick,inclined at an angel of 11.2 degree, stands in front of the mainentrance to the theater. Casting it took 40 hours. The sculp-ture, perforated with 39 ovals, is the largest in the country,

The sculpture required 100 cubic meters of concrete and ismeant to remind people of a theater curtain. “The design

Plzeňgets a' democratic theater'Curtain has gone up on the first major theater built since the 1980s

REGIONA LNEWSTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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EXTERIOR SHOWING THE ENTRY SCULPTURE WITH ITS OVAL DESIGN.

includes an illuminated façade controlled directly from thetheatre direction – thus the façade becomes an element ofthe stage design, part of the performance,” Kružík said.

Rather than make one massive building, the planners optedto create a cohesive urban space. A 700 square meter plaza or“theater square” separates the main theater building from anoperations and services building. The square has a 3-meter-wide, 20 ton egg sculpture, echoing the oval design of the the-ater's main entry.

Pedestrians can use the square to relax, even if they werenot going to a show. The square provides access to the the-ater’s café, for example, and in nice weather has outdoor seat-ing. The administrative building faces a busy street and servesas an additional sound barrier for the main building.

The egg was made by Hochtief CZ, the main contractor forthe theater. Even that turned out to be more complicated thanplanned. The egg was cast in two parts in a steel frame thatproved difficult to remove. The halves then had to be trans-ported 130 kilometers and assembled in their final setting.

In the plaza, overhead enclosed passages connect the twobuildings. A common basement runs under the plaza and bothbuildings and contains much of the theatrical infrastructure.

The exterior of the main building has a reddish color thatcomes from concrete mixed with iron oxide. The red coloringwas imported from the United States.

The coloring was chosen because of its long-term color sta-bility when exposed to weather and UV light. The perimeterwall has 3,500 square meters of cast concrete.

The theater is the only major theater built in the CzechRepublic since the 1985, when a municipal theater opened inMost in northern Bohemia. There have been other theatersthat have opened, such as Gong in Ostrava, north Moravia, butthat was retrofitted into an industrial gas container and notpurpose-built from scratch.

Nové divadlo is also the first one that Kružík worked on. “Itwas very complicated. More complicated that I thought itwould be,” he said, adding that he thought it would be sometime before he tackled another project that would be as com-plicated as this one.

He began working on it in 2007, but the idea that thereshould be a new theater in Plzeň came up in 2001 or 2002,

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 11

THEATER SQUARE BETWEEN BUILDINGS.

MAIN THEATER INTERIOR.

CONTROL PANELS FOR MAIN THEATER.

Kružík said. The earliest stage was to determine exactly whatthe theater should be like. The city of Plzeň consulted withexperts in the field, such as British-based Iain Mackintosh, whoafter a career as a theatrical producer became a theater spacedesigner in the 1970s.

The main theater has very little in the way of decoration,save for dark wood soundproofing on the walls. It is the most“finished” space in the complex. Kružík explained that it waspart of the overall concept.

The minimalism is so any decorations won’t detract from theperformance or dictate some preconceived notions aboutgenres or styles. The main hall will be used for dramatic plays,musicals and operettas, ballets, opera and concerts. It has tosuit all of them equally.

The room being the most finished is because it is whereeverything that the performers have been working on finallycomes together; it is the jewel of the building.

The soundproofing is permeated by small circles, and over-head in the main hall there are walkways for stage lighting tech-nicians. These seem to stylistically echo the hole-filled sculptureat the entrance façade and the walkways over the theatersquare between buildings, but when asked Kružík said it wasunintentional, and he had never noticed the similarities before.

The same dark-wood soundproofing panels can be seenthroughout the public parts of the main building. For the mostpart the panels are decorative, a visual link between the entry

way, foyer and the theater space.

In other public parts of the building, one cansee bare concrete on the walls, and sometimeswiring and conduits on the ceiling and other rawdetails to create the illusion that the theater is adifferent kind of space: a world separate fromdaily reality.

In the backstage and service areas, the buildinglooks even more unfinished, in keeping with itsfunctionalist nature.

The theater is billed as the most modern inthe country, and the reason for that can be seenin the basements and backstage areas. A mas-sive hydraulic system is in place so sections ofthe stage can be moved up and down to createdifferent levels and spaces as required by eachproduction.

Tracks, rotating platforms and elevators facili-tate the movement of scenery, props and cos-

tumes from storage areas to the stage.

The backstage area is also a beehive of activity, even whenthe stage area seems calm.

Numerous rehearsal rooms hold anything from a soledancer jumping over chairs to an entire room of ballet dancersrehearsing to piano and even a room for a whole orchestra.

These aren’t little left-over spaces put in as an afterthought:They are integral to the theater, and each has soundproofingas required, so one rehearsal doesn’t interfere with another.The larger dance rehearsal space has a sunny balcony, makingit a rather inviting space.

The city held an international competition for the design,which won by the Portuguese atelier Contemporânea. Thecost of building that design, though, was several times higherthan the planned budget. A team from Helika, led by architectKružík, had to rework the contest proposal to suit the locationand to make it financially feasible.

The construction costs amounted to €30 million, accordingto the Helika website. Project implementation took placebetween 2009 and 2010, while construction officially beganJune 13, 2012. From laying the cornerstone to completiontook 810 days. In terms of safety standards and buildingintegrity, the theater is in the same category as the nuclearreactor at Temelín. g

REGIONA LNEWSTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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EGG SCULPTURE.

A RED-LETTER HOTEL

It has borne many names, amongthem Hotel Družba (Friendship),Hotel Čedok, Hotel Holiday Innand Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague.But for most of its nearly 50-year

existence, the 88-meter tall luxury accom-modation establishment in Prague’supper-class Dejvice neighborhood wasknown as Hotel International, and it is aname to which its latest owners have nowreturned after two decades.

The only Stalinist building of its size inPrague, construction of the hotel startedshortly before the deaths of the longtimeSoviet leader and his man in EasternEurope, Czechoslovakia’s first communistpresident, Klement Gottwald. The devel-opment of the hotel was the idea of thecountry’s defense minister at the time,

Alexej Čepička, who wanted to have ahotel built that would epitomize thenewly formed Czechoslovak Republic andboast its rapprochement with the com-munist Soviet Union to the east.

The building was completed in 1956(around the same time Čepička was gettingblamed for the cult of personality aroundGottwald, who was also his father-in-law,and was purged by being demoted to a jobin the government patent office), but finish-ing touches on the decorations inside werestill being carried out a year later.

Complete with a giant star, glazed inruby-red glass, which signaled its commu-nist origins, the building was first calledHotel Družba (the square in front of thehotel was náměstí Družba from 1958 to

1990 and today is part of the streetJugoslávských partyzánů) and then tenta-tively Hotel Čedok (after Czechoslovakia’snationalized travel agency of the samename), while a competition was launchedto find a new name that would come fromthe general population; in the end, “HotelInternational” was selected.

After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, thehotel was taken over by the Holiday Inngroup, and the crimson communist rem-nant on the tower was painted green tomirror the color of the hotel chain. In2007, the star was removed and paintedgold, which is the color it still retains today.

Around the time of the 1968 occupa-tion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pactarmies allied with the Soviet Union, the

Hotel International Now back to its old name.Remnant of social realism stands the test of time — so does its name

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 13

U.S. film The Bridge at Remagen, set during World War II, was inproduction in the country, and actor Ben Gazzara was starringin one of the lead roles.

He was staying at Hotel International, and in his 2004 mem-oir, In the Moment: My Life as an Actor, he describes the inva-sion as follows: “I started hearing strange rumblings, then jetplanes zooming overhead. I looked out the window and sawtanks — lots of them — moving into position below us. … Icalled the front desk to ask what was going on. The kindlytelephone operator told me. ‘It’s the Russians. They’ve comelike the Germans in 1939. They’ve come to kill our freedom.’She was crying. ‘Poor Czechoslovakia’,” she said.

The production’s cast and crew were all moved to this hotel,where they stayed for a week before receiving permission totravel to Austria.

On July 1 this year, the establishment returned to the HotelInternational name, a decision in part consequent upon itsdeparture from the InterContinental Hotels Group chain, butalso, as its director of sales and marketing, Lukáš Kučera,explained to The Prague Post, “in the end, we realized that therecognition on the market, a good name (not only among theCzech population), the tradition of the movie Šakalí léta andmany other factors [should] bring us back to the classic name,Hotel International.”

Indeed, despite its storied history and its imposing facade,the hotel’s fame, especially among younger Czechs, comesfrom its appearance in Jan Hřebejk’s musical comedy filmŠakalí léta, also known under its English title Big Beat (literally,the title means “The Years of the Jackal”). The film is set in andaround the hotel in the late 1950s, just after it opened.

Hotel International now belongs to the Austria-basedGerstner Imperial Hotels and Residences chain, which alsoruns the Grand Hotel Bohemia in Prague’s Old Town, theGrandhotel Brno in the country’s second-largest city and capi-tal of Moravia, four hotels in Vienna and one in the spa town ofBaden, 30 minutes south of the Austrian capital.

Kučera said the hotel’s history and its architecture still drawsmany visitors, as well as film production crews from the CzechRepublic and around the world.

Given its historical value, there are many restrictions on theways in which the hotel may be modified. That doesn’t meanthe interior has to continue to be entirely stuck in the past,however, and Kučera said a new Club Lounge was opened onits 14th and 15th floors to host special events and entertaincorporate guests. Other impressive Prague attractions such as

Prague Castle and Troja Palace can both be seen from this set-ting at the top of the hotel.

It also seems that the new — or rather, the old — name isnot at all controversial, and the response from locals has gen-erally been very positive. “When we speak about local businesspartners, I have to say some of them [were] surprised, butmore or less they welcomed getting back to the ‘good oldname.’ When we speak about the local population, I would saythe majority of the feedback is positive. Just as an example,there was an announcement on the Facebook page of thePrague 6 district, and the comments were only positive,”Kučera said.

While other giant icons of the time, such as the StalinMonument or Hotel Praha, both within easy walking distance,have been demolished over time (the former in 1962, the lat-ter earlier this year), Hotel International has remained in all itssocial realist glory. In spite, or perhaps because, of its ideologi-cally tainted origins, it keeps on intriguing the city and itstourists and will likely do so for many years to come. g

- André Crous can be reached at acrous@praguepost.com

HOTELTRENDSTEXT ANDRÉ CROUS

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THE CLASSIC HOTEL INTERNATIONAL

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 15

The Prague Outletis getting ready for the runwayA new mall will open on the edge of Prague in 2015, but there will be a fewdifferences. The first is that the mall has been sitting completed since 2008.The second is that unlike other malls in the city, it is a fashion outlet.

RETA ILNEWSTEXT RAYMOND JOHNSTON

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NEW FASHION OUTLET NEAR AIRPORT WILL TARGET INTERNATIONALTOURISTS AND 4.5 MILLION CZECHS — AND PLANESPOTTERS

The Prague Outlet will offer designer clothes andaccessories for both men and women at a sub-stantial savings. “We require a discount of at least40 percent,” Anna Jones of Rioja Developments,told the Prague Post.

Rioja Developments is consulting with the mall’s operator,which recently changed its name from Dreitonel to The PragueOutlet, on the selection of brands and on other aspects of themall. They are currently looking for high-end labels to take upshops in the first phase of the opening, while at the same timethey are implementing a cosmetic redesign to the completedoutlet space. The target is to open in the fall of 2015.

It is too early to disclose any brand names, but Jones saysthat very positive meetings with top-level international nameshave already taken place.

“We have an advantage that the labels can come and actu-ally see the exact space they could have,” Jones says.Normally, she deals with clients before the mall is built. “[Somebrands] have been very impressed with the space once theysee it.”

They are also impressed with the location. The mall is rightnext to one of the parking lots for Václav Havel Airport Prague.The business plan counts on not only customers within a 90minute drive of the mall — a figure that includes 4.5 millionpotential customers and stretches to parts of the German bor-der — but also international travelers looking for fashion bar-gains before they go home.

Václav Havel Airport gets direct flights from Seoul, Dubai,Istanbul and Moscow, for example, in addition to most majorcities in the European Union.

The outlet will have airport departure information and evenkiosks for check-in. Shuttle buses will connect the outlet tothe airport to make last-minute shopping trips easier.

The 90-minute drive zone might seem excessive, butresearch shows that people will go that far for fashion bar-gains. Outlets in Berlin, Vienna and other cities have shownthis to be the case.

The specific mix of customers projected for The PragueOutlet is being taken into account. “In Prague, the trend forfashion is more formal than in Poland, for example,” Jones said.So she is targeting brands that can provide more formal pieces.

She also added that women from some parts of Asia partic-ularly want designer handbags above anything else. “It’s amust-have item for them,” she said. Other travelers can’t gohome without a piece or two of bling. As part of her research,Jones has been tracking the changes in the national composi-tion of tourists and their respective spending habits over thepast several years to make sure they target the right crowd.

The customer for a fashion outlet is also much more likelyto spend money once they enter the premises than the cus-tomer for a typical mall is. Jones says it is rare for someone totravel a long distance to an outlet and leave empty handed,while that happens much more often in a standard shoppingmall. “They don’t know when they come in that they will buyexactly one item, but I know that. The research shows it,”Jones said.

Shopping time is also longer. People will typically spendabout three hours looking for that one bargain they can’trefuse. Outlet shoppers also tend to come once a month,according to Jones’ figures.

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 17

PROJECTED EXTERIOR VIEWOF THE PRAGUE OUTLET.

While Central and Eastern Europe is still catching up withthe West in some aspects of consumerism, the fashion outletconcept isn’t exactly new. Jones has consulted on outlet plansin Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Romania, among other places.Prague has had an outlet center, Prague Fashion Arena, since2007. Jones says that The Prague Outlet is seeking higher-endlabels than are currently available in Prague Fashion Arena, sothe competition won’t be head-to-head

Fashion outlet malls differ from the typical malls and fromtrendy street shops in that the outlet shops carry back catalogitems from the previous season, rather than the current selec-tion. The fashion outlet also specifically targets fashion items,sporting goods and some brand-name houseware. Other storessuch as grocery hypermarkets aren’t in the business plan.

The outlet will also be a mix of items from local brand fran-chise holders as well as directly from the international brands.

The finished mall is massive, so much so that only a fractionwill open at first. The building has 31,000 square meters ofgross leasable area. Only 12,000 sqm hosting 80 units will beopened initially in phase one. Phases two and three will have50 and 40 units respectively. Jones said that zoning similartypes of stores together has been a trend in fashion outlets forseveral years now. That idea will be implemented in phase 1,

with most designers together near the main entrance, and thendifferent areas for casual, sportswear, accessories and so on.

With the outlet being structurally completed, many aspectsof risk are gone, making it more attractive to potential brands.The space has already been approved for occupancy, so thereis no risk related to construction delays. Brands can also beassured that the space they want will be exactly as promisedsince they are not working simply from concept sketches andprojections that are subject to change.

Martin Kubišta, the head of operating company The PragueOutlet, says that the reasons the mall never opened havenothing to do with the space itself. Instead, the originalinvestors from Italy ran into financial troubles that were com-pounded by the economic downturn in 2007 and ’08.Kubišta’s company acquired the space for less the cost of con-struction, as it was sold off as part of a bankruptcy sale. Thatsavings will allow rent per square meter to be lower.

Some changes will be made, but the space — which origi-nally was going to be called Galeria Moda — has a lot ofimpressive features. It was built with a loading dock and hid-den service corridors so stores can be restocked almost invisi-bly, as far as customers are concerned. This allows the outletto be open seven days a week. “If you walked all around, the

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PROJECTED INTERIOR VIEW OF THE PRAGUE OUTLET.

AUGUST 2005 w w w. t h i n k . c z 19

service corridor stretches more than a kilometer,” he said.

The mall also has glass skylights covering all the pedestrianareas, allowing in lots of natural light. This is not only energyefficient, but it also makes for a much more pleasant shoppingexperience. The outlet has 2,000 covered parking spaces and500 more that are in the open. The shopping area is elevated,and cars can park under the stores but on ground level.Kubišta says that many drivers prefer this to undergroundparking. Originally the only entries to the mall were from thisunderground parking.

“The original designers did a lot of great things, but they did-n’t design a good entrance. That is one of the things we arechanging. We will be building a new entrance that makes themall more inviting,” Kubišta said. He will be adding a smallplaza in front of the mall leading to a new large glassed-inentryway with two escalators bringing people up into the mainspace of the mall. An existing balcony will be protected by anoverhang, and seating will allow people to sit and watch the airtraffic go into and out of the airport. A small number of cafesand food stands will allow people to get some refreshmentsfor their planespotting.

All of this together — the plaza, the entry and theplanespotting balcony — will create a sense of activity that

people can see from the road before they even enter the mall.

In the opposite corner from the entry there is a large openspace with a circular staircase heading down to the parkingarea. Kubišta sees a great possibility for this space. He wants toreplace the existing stairs with a more angular and terracedwide-bodied staircase that will have indoor trees and places tosit and relax on different levels. Ivy will cover the walls, creatingfresh air and a bit of humidity. The space will be a signaturehighlight of the mall.

All of the interior decoration will also be redone. The originaldesign, which is still in the finished mall, was oddly retro withsome sci-fi touches. Bright orange panels and concentric circlesgive the space a 1980s feel, while rings around the supportcolumns seem like something from a futuristic outer-spacefilm. This will all be replaced with a simple mostly white designthat will allow the fashions in the shops to provide color.

Another point that Kubišta and Jones both praised was thesize of the shops. While there is some variation, all are small tomedium-size, which suits a fashion outlet. There is no megas-tore space that needs to be converted. All of the shop spacesare flexible, as few of the interior walls are structural. If onebrand wants to expand, it is not a problem from an architectur-al point of view. g

VISUALIZATION OF THE MAIN COURTYARD WITH TREES, INSIDE PRAGUE OUTLET.

Online retailersusing more storage space

Online retailers have been operating in increasingly large storage premises. Inthe second quarter, three of the five largest transactions on the industrial realestate market were attributed to well-established online retailers in Bohemia –Internet Mall (Mall.cz), Alza.cz and Internet Shop (Parfums.cz).

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GROWTH IN E-COMMERCE HAS LED TO THE NEED FOR MORE SPACE IN LOGISTICS CENTERS

Over the last three years, online retailers haveleased more than 70,000 sq m of storagepremises in the Czech Republic and interestin such premises has been growing. Thistrend mirrors the situation in Western

Europe where the average share of total lease transactionsexecuted by online retailers amounted to 15 - 20 percent inthe last three years.

The Czech Republic offers more than 4,600,000 squaremeters of modern storage premises. The share of total leasetransactions made by online retailers has been growing. In thefirst on-line half of 2014, occupation increased to 23 percentcompared to the whole of 2013.

There are two main factors behind the increased require-ment for storage premises for online retailers in the Czech

Republic. Firstly, the increasingpopularity of e-shopping amongCzech consumers and secondly,foreign online retailers are nowleasing storage premises in theCzech Republic.

Although these online retailersdo not supply the Czech marketwith their products, they takeadvantage of the geographicalposition of the Czech Republic inaccompaniment with lower oper-ating costs to serve and supplyWestern markets.

This is the case of Amazon.comand of the German online super-market Allyouneed.com, whichhave leased, with the assistance ofCBRE, over 10,000 sqm of storagepremises in one of the largest logis-tic parks in the Czech Republic,CTPark Bor.

These storage premises willserve the German market, with anonline supermarket that is alreadyextending its operation to otherEuropean countries.

“Online retailers have leasedmore than 70,000 sqm of storagepremises in the last three years inthe Czech Republic.

We have seen a significant increase in the share in the totallease transactions. Just in the second quarter, the demand ofonline retailers amounted to 32 percent of the total demandsatisfied, apart from renegotiations. These figures do notinclude the Amazon transaction in Prague West,” says MichalBezděka, head of industrial agency at CBRE.

CBRE Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companyheadquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commer-cial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2013revenue).

In the Czech Republic, CBRE has almost 350 employees andmanages nearly 200 commercial buildings with total areaalmost 1.2 million sqm. g

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CTPARK BOR HAS SEVERALONLINE CLIENTS.

top’rezidenceAn ideal place for relaxationThe timeless architecture of top’rezidence from the studio of SHA Architects respectsits location and space, fulfilling the current demand of premium living.

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THE TOP’REZIDENCE COMPLEX IS A PRIVATE PREMISEWHICH OFFERS A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES.

Fifty low energy and passive houses are set in theunique scenery of Šárecké údolí in Prague 6,Dejvice. The deliberate urbanism of top’rezidenceoffers a city parterre, with a central park, compris-ing of much greenery and a designer club house.

The streets have a residential character, and include a play-ground. The interiors of the house are designed by studioOLGOJ CHORCHOL, the ‘Grand designer of the year 2010’Czech Grand Design award winning architect.

Of similar importance, as is the concept and benefits of thisresidential complex, is the availability of individual houses andtheir low operational expenses.

With every type of house, ranging from 165m2 up to285m2 (additionally including a double garage), clients will be

able to choose from varia-tions of multiple layouts. Allfamily houses will not onlyoffer residential units withhigh comfort, but also cost-effective heating.

Forty eight houses will bein the energy level A catego-ry, that is, an exceptionallyenergy efficient building; twohouses will be in the energylevel B category, that is, anenergy efficient building.More than 50% of the houseswill be passive buildings.

At top’rezidence, the safetyof its residents and their chil-dren always comes in firstplace. The top’rezidence com-plex is a private premises witha 24/7 reception, whichoffers a wide range of servic-es, including security.

top’rezidence is the idealplace for housing as well asfor relaxation, priding itselfwith an impressive proximityto the city center.

The project is located 1.5kilometers from the metrostation Bor ̌islavka (to be com-pleted in 2015), where a

neighboring shopping-administrative center Bor ̌islavka will beopened in the second half of 2017.

The bus stop 116 is merely 50 meters from the entrance ofthe premises, and 300 meters from the stop Jenerálka.

The Global concepts International nursery is in the immedi-ate vicinity of the residence, with the International School ofPrague (in Nebušice) and a range of Universities in Dejvicenearby. The Václav Havel airport in Ruzyně is a 10 minutedrive away. g

- You can find out more information about this project

on www.top-rezidence.cz.

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NOWLA UNC HINGTEXT SPECIAL TO THE POST

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HB Reavis issues 5-y e a r b o n d sworth €30 millionThe issue was arranged and managed by Slovenská sporiteľňaand Československá obchodná banka

HB Reavis, the leadingcommercial propertydeveloper in Central andEastern Europe, hasclosed its inaugural bond

transaction in Slovakia by rais-ing €30 million. This brings thetotal funds of HB Reavis raisedon capital markets sinceNovember 2013 to over €63million.

The 5-year secured bondsattracted an overwhelmingresponse from investors.More than twofold oversub-scription enabled reductionof the initial pricing guid-ance into final spread fixed at 370 bpsover swap rate. Strong demand resultedinto quick placement of the issue after itslaunch with investors, with final take-upby insurers (subscribing 33 percent of theissue), banks (32 percent), private bankingclients (19 percent) and fund managers(16 percent).

“After successful entrance into debtcapital market last year in Poland, thistransaction proves the confidence theinvestors have in HB Reavis property andfinancing strategy. This bond enables usto further diversify our funding sourceswhilst extending the debt maturity profileof the Group.” commented Peter Pecník,head of financing at HB Reavis.

The issue was arranged and managedby Slovenská sporiteľňa (Erste Group)and Československá obchodnábanka (KBC Group).

“The successful issueproved HB Reavis’ accessnot only to the bank financ-ing but also to debt capitalmarket and it has built upan investor base for futurepotential issues. At thesame time, the transactionhas demonstrated, that

despite limited size of andliquidity at Slovak domestic

market, an excellent resultscan be achieved for the debut issuerssubject to favourable market conditions,right timing of the issue and cooperationwith banks having sufficient investorbase,” stated Tomáš Pavlák, head of treas-ury at Slovenská sporiteľňa.

“With this deal, HB Reavis proved itscompetence as issuer with good reputa-tion and solid performance. This transac-tion has undoubtedly established thecompany’s strong position on the Slovakcapital market,” said Iveta KomáčkováNováková, head of sales for financial mar-kets at Československá obchodná banka.

The bonds issued by HB Reavis arebeing introduced to trading on Bratislava

stock exchange. The bonds have a fixedcoupon of 4.25 percent p.a. and will

mature in August 2019.

HB Reavis is an interna-tional commercial propertygroup founded in 1993 inBratislava. It operates on thekey markets of Central andEastern Europe (Poland,Czech Republic, Slovakia,Hungary), in Great Britain,and in Turkey. The group’sequity is €860 million, whilethe assets under its manage-ment are valued at €1.53 bil-lion.

Slovenská sporiteľňa is thelargest commercial bank in

Slovakia servicing 2.4 million clients. For along time it has kept its leadership in thearea of total assets, credits, clients’deposits, number of branches and ATMs.

In 2001, Slovenská sporiteľňa became amember of Erste Group, which was found-ed 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank.

Československá obchodná banka is aleading Slovak bank with almost 50 years oftradition. It belongs to the strongest andmost important players on the Slovak bank-ing market. ČSOB is a universal bank offer-ing its services to all client segments: retailclients, sole proprietors, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate clients, institu-tionals and private clientele. g

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THE BONDS ISSUED BY HB REAVISARE BEING INTRODUCED TO TRADINGON BRATISLAVA STOCK EXCHANGE.THE BONDS HAVE A FIXED COUPONOF 4.25 PERCENT P.A. AND WILLMATURE IN AUGUST 2019.

Industrial real estate firm Prologis announced thatPrologis European Properties Fund II (“PEPF II”) hasacquired a portfolio of approximately 230,000 squaremeters in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

The portfolio encompasses 23 Class-A distribution centers,including17 properties totaling 163,000 square meters inPrague, Czech Republic. Prologis Park Prague-Rudna is locat-ed on the D5 highway, with direct connection to Germany

Prologisacquires large portfolio inC entral EuropePrologis acquires large portfolio in Central Europe

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PROLOGIS PARK WARSAW-ZERANPHOTO: PROLOGIS

and proximity to Prague International Airport;

There are four properties totaling 55,400 square meters inWarsaw, Poland. Prologis Park Warsaw-Zeran is located nearthe Warsaw city center east of the A2 highway, a key regionaltransport route.

Finally, it includes two properties totaling11,600 squaremetres in Bratislava, Slovakia.

These facilities are adjacent to Prologis Park Bratislava andinclude7.8 hectares of land with a build-out potential of38,400 square meters of logistics space.

JLL real estate agency advised Prologis on this transaction.

“We are pleased to acquire such well-located logistics facili-ties at a discount to replacement costs,” said Philip Dunne,president of Prologis Europe. “These high-quality assets com-plement our existing portfolio. The Prague assets, in particu-lar, are in a long-established park that will benefit from anincrease in labor availability in the years to come.”

Prologis owns and manages approximately 14.3 millionsquare meters of logistics and distribution space in Europe asof June 30, 2014.

Prologis, Inc., is focused on global and regional marketsacross the Americas, Europe and Asia. As of June 30, 2014,Prologis owned or had investments in, on a wholly ownedbasis or through co-investment ventures, properties anddevelopment projects expected to total approximately 53million square meters in 21 countries. g

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PROLOGIS PARK PRAGUE-RUNDA PHOTO: PROLOGIS

PROLOGIS PARK BRATISLAVA PHOTO: PROLOGIS

PRA GUE’SDIAMANTIS SOLD!

PRA GUE’SDIAMANTIS SOLD!

Newest building on Wenceslas Square has a new owner...

Diamant, a building located on Wenceslas Square at

Václavské náměstí 3 in Prague 1, has been sold.

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MAX Immo represented the seller,Austrian developer Mustela. The pur-chaser, German fund manager GLL RealEstate Partners, was represented locallyby SPI. The building was sold for an

undisclosed sum but a record yield, according to a MAXImmo press release.

“We are pleased to announce the successful sale ofDiamant,” said Carlo Gradl, managing director of MAX Immo,“This is a significant business transaction for Prague, actuallythe second largest this year. We are very pleased that wehave been part of such a valuable transaction … despite theincreasingly challenging conditions in the commercial prop-erty market.”

Diamant combines innovative technology and traditionwith modern design and exclusivity, according to MAX Immo.The building is located in the “Golden Cross” — the intersec-tion of Na Příkopě Street and Wenceslas Square, which is themost attractive shopping area in Prague.

The multifunctional building with an area of 11,000 squaremeters was completed in the last quarter of 2013 and is cur-rently the newest building on Wenceslas Square.

The tenants include fashion retailer C & A, O2 CzechRepublic subsidiary Wayra and real estate consultancy KnightFrank. The top floor host Wenceslas Square Terraces, with 24luxury suites for both short- and long-term accommodation.

Gradl became the exclusive real estate adviser for Diamantin 2007, before the start of construction. At that time thebuilding was planned and already pre-leased as a hotel.

Based on the recommendations of Gradl and his team,however, the owner of the building changed the permit.

“We went through a very difficult period and the projecthad multiple delays. Additionally, we had to rent the buildingin during an economic crisis,” Gradl said. After more than twoyears of negotiations, in 2013 he managed to secure cooper-ation with Dutch-based C & A, which signed a long-termlease for nearly 6,000 square meters.

Diamant became the brand’s flagship store in Central andEastern Europe. “Signing this agreement was, of course, cru-cial to the ultimate success of the building,” Gradl said.

In 2013, project management was entrusted to the Austrianconsultancy MPT Advisory Group to complete the construc-tion and preparation of the building for sale. MPT organizedthe selection procedure, in which a record number ofinvestors from around the world showed interest.

The ultimate winner was the company GLL Real EstatePartners. MAX Immo is continuing to lease the remainingoffice space. g

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Eastern European commercial real estate invest-ment volumes have reached €3.6 billion in thefirst half of 2014. Colliers International presentsthree scenarios for investment volumes in 2014and beyond.

Damian Harrington, regional director of research for ColliersInternational, Eastern Europe, said: “In 2013 commercial realestate volumes for Eastern Europe reached €10.8 billion, uparound 20 per cent on 2012. Through the first half of 2014,investment volumes across Eastern Europe have slowed mar-ginally, losing some of the momentum that was gained during2013.” At the start of 2014 we provided three scenarios forinvestment volumes in 2014 and beyond.

The 'Best-Case' scenario would see 2014 investment vol-umes close to the cyclical peak of 2007 at ca €16 billion, sur-passing it by 2016 when it reaches almost €19 billion.

More modest 'Mid-Case' scenario, forecast an increase inregional investment volumes as international investors are con-tinually attracted to the region is search of positive yields withrental and capital-value upside. However, volumes would betempered by limited product choice, despite an increase in

buyer appetite. The 'Worst-Case' scenario forecast a dip ininvestment volumes in the first half of 2014 as a result of con-cerns over the current Russia/Ukraine conflict. A weakening ofinternational investment sentiment to Russia would reducetransaction activity, leading to a decline in regional volumes in2014 before picking up again in 2015.

At the half-way point in the year it is the 'Worst-Case sce-nario' which has held true. This may appear negative but itshould not detract from the increasing popularity of the corePolish and Czech investment markets which continue to seeincreasing deal volumes.

Equally, investment activity is also picking up across the Tier 2markets of the region — notably the Baltics, Hungary andRomania — and there are signs of increasing activity furthersouth and east in Bulgaria and Serbia. This has led to some yieldcompression in these locations during the first half of the year.

If investment demand continues to diversify across theregion in the second half of the year this could take us backtowards a more robust mid-Case scenario. However, it is morelikely that it won't be until 2015 before regional investmentreally picks up pace outside of the CEE core of Poland and theCzech Republic.

Colliers International is a global leader in commercial realestate services, with over 15,800 professionals operating out ofmore than 485 offices in 63 countries.

Colliers International has been active in the Czech marketsince 1994. g

3 scenarios for investment volumesin 2 0 1 4 and beyondThe situation in Ukraineand Russia has weakenedinter national investment

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SOLDIERS PROTECT A GOVERNMENT BUILDING IN KYIV EARLIER THIS YEAR. PHOTO: OLENA KAGUI

VGP PARK HORNÍ POČERNICE PHOTO: VGP

PointPark Properties (P3),backed by TPG and IvanhoeCambridge, have committedto purchase a portfolio ofindustrial and logistics prop-

erties across the Czech Republic for €523million. They purchased the property fromVGP and its joint-venture partner, interna-tional real estate investment managerTristan Capital Partners.

The transaction is the largest industrialproperty deal ever in the Czech Republicand the second-largest property deal ofany sector. The Palladium shopping cen-ter in Prague transacted for around €530million in 2007.

The VGP portfolio covers 58 modernlogistics buildings with 627,000 square

meters of standing assets and includesdevelopment land with the potential todevelop 125,000 sqm of additional space.

At the core of the transaction is VGPPark Horní Počernice, one of the largestlogistics parks in the Czech Republic,which VGP has been developing since2006.

The complex at Horní Počernice, withsome 336,000 sqm of prime warehouses,is the “jewel in the crown” of the portfolio.It is considered to be the premier industri-al/logistics park in Central Europe, if notEurope, according to P3.

VGP said it will primarily reinvest its partof the sales proceeds in VGP’s core mar-kets located in the mid-European region

and especially Germany.

For VGP this deal will have a significantpositive impact on its growth strategywhich is concentrating more and more onthe German market. While this market hasalready emerged as a new core market forVGP during the last two years with sub-stantial amounts invested in the acquisi-tion and build-up of a strategically locatedland bank i.e. located in proximity ofimportant urban centers, the sales pro-ceeds of the transaction received by VGPwill enable VGP to accelerate the nation-wide investment and project develop-ment activities of VGP in Germany.

“This deal underlines the quality ofwhat we have realized in the past andallows us to accelerate considerably our

Record Real Estate Deal in the C zech RepublicPointPark Properties buys portfolio worth €523 million from VGP

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 33

ambitious growth plans in the future. As we have been record-ing an increasing demand for high-end and modern industrialproperties in Germany and Eastern Europe, now is an optimaltime to sell and to re-invest the sales proceeds in new green-field development projects.” Jan Van Geet, CEO of VGP, said ina press release.

The sale to P3 is scheduled for completion during the fourthquarter of 2014, subject to the finalization of contract termsand regulatory approval.

VGP has been retained by P3 to continue providing propertyand facility management services to the disposed portfolio.

Real estate services and investment firm CBRE has workedwith P3 since early in the year on all aspects of commercialand technical underwriting of the assets and the transaction.

“Having the ability and resource to underwrite a transactionof this scale and complexity gave us the opportunity to addsignificant value at both the bidding stage, and final underwrit-ing of the transaction. We are delighted to participate withP3/TPG in such landmark and strategically important acquisi-tion,” Jeff Alson, head of capital markets for CBRE, said.

Ian Worboys, CEO of P3, said that he was delighted by theway in which CBRE worked in advising his company on thisdeal. “They worked closely with our own in house teams toprovide us with both a Pan European and local knowledge allof which helped the deal complete,” he added.

VGP constructs and develops high-end semi-industrial realestate and ancillary offices for its own account and for theaccount of its associates, which are subsequently rented outto reputable clients on long term lease contracts. VGP has an

in-house team that manages all activities of the fully integrat-ed business model: from identification and acquisition of land,to the conceptualization and design of the project, the super-vision of the construction works, contracts with potential ten-ants and the facility management of its own real estateportfolio.

VGP is quoted on Euronext Brussels and the main market ofthe Prague Stock Exchange.

PointPark Properties (P3) is a specialist investor, developerand asset manager of warehouse properties. It is headquar-tered in Prague and active across Europe.

P3’s mission is to provide warehouse tenants with a first rateoccupancy experience at a competitive cost. When P3 devel-ops, it delivers environmentally sustainable warehouses to thehighest international standards.

CBRE Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companyheadquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commer-cial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2013revenue). The company has approximately 44,000 employees

(excluding affiliates), and serves real estate own-ers, investors and occupiers through approxi-mately 350 offices (excluding affiliates)worldwide.

CBRE offers strategic advice and execution forproperty sales and leasing; corporate services;property, facilities and project management;appraisal and valuation; development services;investment management; and research andconsulting. In the Czech Republic, CBRE hasalmost 350 employees and manages nearly 200commercial buildings with total area almost 1.2million sqm. g

- Combined press releases from VGP,

PointPark Properties and CBRE

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“HAVING THE ABILITY AND RESOURCETO UNDERWRITE A TRANSACTION OF

THIS SCALE AND COMPLEXITY GAVE USTHE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD SIGNIFI-CANT VALUE AT BOTH THE BIDDING

STAGE, AND FINAL UNDERWRITING OFTHE TRANSACTION. WE ARE DELIGHT-

ED TO PARTICIPATE WITH P3/TPG INSUCH LANDMARK AND STRATEGICALLY

IMPORTANT ACQUISITION,” - JEFF ALSON, CBRE

ČSOB’S PRAGUE HEADQUARTERS IN RADLICE WAS THE FIRST

LEED-CERTIFIED BUILDING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC.

PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA

While making sus-tainable and greenbuildings has beencatching on, thereis still a long way

to go before it becomes the norm. Officeconstruction has been a leader so far, butsectors like residential housing are lag-ging. To make it more attractive to bothbuilders and buyers, the cost benefitsneed to be spelled out as they are notparticularly transparent, according toJames Drinkwater, senior policy adviser atthe World Green Building Council (WGBC).

The council provides a platform for col-laboration among architects, investors,researchers, governments, product man-ufacturers and anyone else involved inbuildings.

In the past, a lot of the messagingabout environmental issues stressed thenegative and emphasized guilt. Themovement now is to emphasize costbenefits, and there is real need to getdata that is standardized.

In terms of the EU, Drinkwater saysthere needs to be a single common lan-guage about some core elements ratherthan 28 different ones. The EuropeanCommission adopted a communicationon sustainable buildings July 1.

“Buildings don’t travel across bordersbut there is actually a need for us to havea common dialogue about what consti-tutes a sustainable building,” he said.Data is often not collected in the sameway in different countries, and that needs

to be standardized so that cost benefitsof green buildings can be calculated.

While the European Commission hasbeen looking at creating its own eco labelfor the top performing office buildings,Drinkwater says that other certificationsystems like LEED and BREEAM alreadyfill those roles. More action does need tobe taken in the residential area, though.But before that can be done reliable datais needed.

“There is a need to ask what somecommon performance areas are and canwe start to measure them in the sameway. There are different approaches indifferent countries and that means wecan’t scale data, we can’t compare data,”Drinkwater said. “And that is a problem.”

Sustainable & A ffordableshould be synonymousEveryone needs a common language when it comes to buildings

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 35

Benchmarks of what constitutes good building perform-ance need to be the same across the region. “It is crucial toget this data for the finance sector,” he said.

The World Green Building Council is working with theEuropean Commission on a common framework for buildingassessment. It will look at total energy use and other key per-formance areas where everyone can look at these perform-ance areas and standardize the ways they are measured.

“Then can we scale that data and can we make it useful forthe financial community to show the risks of investing in non-sustainable building and the benefits of investing in more sus-tainable buildings.”

The data is also needed to be able to determine the bestways to offer incentives for sustainability. Some countries, forexample are looking at penalties for non-sustainable building

projects, and these funds would go toward incentives forgreener projects.

“In terms of balance in the system it is definitely an ideawhich is catching on,” Drinkwater says, but he sees pros andcons to that approach.

“When people are penalized by regulators for not doingsomething it can often push them the wrong direction. … Soinstead pushing people to do the good thing they say, ‘Whythe hell are people regulating me and trying to tell me whatto do?’” he said, adding that it makes them even less inclinedto listen.

Some research has already the examined economic benefitsof green buildings. Office workers are more productive andhave fewer sick days when there is good air quality and naturallight. Residential communities can be safer and more efficient.

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P3´S STRATEGY TO EXPAND THE PORTFOLIO IN SLOVAKIA WERE THE KEY POINTS FOR THEDECISION TO ENLARGE THE PARK BY NEARLY110,000 SQM OF POTENTIAL WAREHOUSES.

PHOTO: POINTPARK PROPERTIES

These macroeconomic benefits need to be measured. “Ifultimately you are creating a more productive economy andyou are creating better communities, happier communities,safer communities then those benefits can be monetized. Wecan justify using some of that positive revenue to offset theincentives,” he said.

A common stumbling block, especially in the residentialarea, is the notion that sustainability means higher costs, butthat is changing.

“We are trying to find ways of providing sustainable build-ings that are affordable buildings,” Drinkwater says.

“Ultimately sustainability should be affordability. Theyshould be pretty much synonymous. So that is what we aregoing towards.”

He gave the example of solar panels, which have droppeddramatically in cost as demand went up and they were nolonger a specialty item. “We are absolutely seeing costs indelivering these types of buildings go down.”

Another important concept is to look at the entire lifecycleof a building. “We know people demolish buildings and theysend stuff to landfills. How can we link those guys who aredemolishing buildings to product manufacturers at the startof the building process and use that content and put it backinto the manufacturing cycle?” he said.

“In Europe we are working with the European Commissionat the moment … to work on supported public policy to movesustainable building forward and for greater use of recycledcontent as well as buildings and products which are designedfor deconstruction so their components can be taken apartand recycled easily,” he said. “We are working to break downthe current incentives structure to allow more of that to hap-pen, to incentivize the market.”

While sustainability is an easy concept to apply to officenew buildings and residential homes in the suburbs, it poses achallenge for historical buildings.

“It is definitely difficult,” he said. But he gave an example inthe UK. When the people interested in historical preservationand those interested in sustainability came together theywere able to create a common language on how to retrofitresponsibly. “Part of sustainability is aesthetic and cultural ofcourse,” he said.

A lot of research still needs to be done in this area, and so farItaly, which has many historical buildings, has taken the lead.

“Responsible retrofit that is sensitive to the historic quali-ties of buildings but is also looking at changing some of theenvironmental performance characteristics of those buildingsis possible,” he said.

“We are only just starting to analyze how older materialsreally perform over time. A lot still to be done on that but weare really starting to make progress,” he said. “A lot ofprogress already out there.”

But the key to progress on the issue of sustainability is edu-cating everyone who uses buildings about the benefits. So fara lot of real estate industry leaders have become interested inthe benefits of sustainability, and more are likely to follow. Butthe end users need to be the ones who are satisfied.

“If the goal is really a better built environment on the planetfor everyone to enjoy, then really we need to have a lot morevoices than just leaders in the industry,” he said.

Drinkwater was in Prague at the end of June for two days topresent proposed EU legislation to the Czech market.

The Czech Republic has its own group that is a part of theWGBC. The Czech Green Building Council (CZGBC), establishedin 2009, is a non-profit making organization with the mainobjective to support sustainable buildings. It integrates compa-nies from the whole value chain related to real estate and con-struction sector.

It encourages the market to change the design, construction,renovation and management of the buildings to achieve healthy,prosperous, environmentally and socially friendly buildings thathelp to increase the quality of life. g

- Raymond Johnston can be reached at rjohnston@praguepost.com

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 37

“IN EUROPE WE ARE WORKING WITHTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AT THEMOMENT … TO WORK ON SUPPORTED

PUBLIC POLICY TO MOVE SUSTAIN-ABLE BUILDING FORWARD AND FOR

GREATER USE OF RECYCLED CONTENTAS WELL AS BUILDINGS AND PROD-

UCTS WHICH ARE DESIGNED FORDECONSTRUCTION SO THEIR COMPO-

NENTS CAN BE TAKEN APART ANDRECYCLED EASILY. WE ARE WORKING

TO BREAK DOWN THE CURRENTINCENTIVES STRUCTURE TO ALLOW

MORE OF THAT TO HAPPEN, TOINCENTIVIZE THE MARKET.”

B REEA M Dreams:In d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g g e t shigh sustainability ratingPrologis Park Prague D1 West certified ‘Very Good’ under BREEAM scheme

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THE “VERY GOOD” LEVEL IS THE HIGH-EST EVER EARNED BY AN INDUSTRIAL

BUILDING IN CENTRAL EUROPE.

Industrial real estate firm Prologis announced thatBuilding 4 at Prologis Park Prague D1 West was rated 65 percent and certified “Very Good” under the BREEAM system.

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment EnvironmentalAssessment Methodology) is the longest established and mostwidely used method of assessing, rating, and certifying thesustainability of buildings.

More than 250,000 buildings have been BREEAM certified inmore than 50 countries around the world.

The “Very Good” level is the highest ever earned by anindustrial building in Central Europe. It is also the first storagefacility in the Czech Republic to win this certificate.

Prologis during the construction the 21,429 square meterarea observed stringent standards to deliver a building withhigh quality, energy efficiency, reduced operating costs andincreased profitability for tenants.

“We are delighted to have received such a high rating in sus-tainability for this building. Our priority is to build a propertythat perfectly meet the needs of our clients and is effective inthe long run in terms of cost,” said Martin Polák, senior vicepresident and Prologis country manager for the CzechRepublic and Slovakia,

“BREEAM certification is another step in our commitment toour clients and their needs and expectations.”

The main contractor for the project was Goldbeck. Theprocess of obtaining the BREEAM certificate was handled byArcadis CZ.

Prologis Park Prague D1 West consists of four buildings total-ing more than 51,000 sqm of distribution and office space. Thepark is located approximately 11 km southeast of Prague at thecrossroads of Říčany and Jesenice, close to highway D1.

Prologis, with more than 660,000 sqm and logistic distribu-tion space as of June 30, 2014, is one of the leading providersof industrial real estate in the Czech Republic. g

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 39

PROLOGIS PARK PRAGUE D1 WEST.

Point ParkPropertieson highway D1.

New industrial units in Central Europe are being developed at twice the rate oflast year. More than 500,000 square meters of units were built (last year: 260,000sqm) and almost 2 million sqm of industrial property was leased in H1 2014.

INDUSTRIA LNEWSTEXT NEWS DESK

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CENTRAL EUROPE’S INDUSTRIAL RE MARKET ACCELERATES

As a result, the vacancy rate has dropped onaverage below 10 percent, according toCushman & Wakefield’s CE Industrial team.“The take-up of new space is so high thatalmost all stock is leased before the actual

development starts. As a result, speculative development isalmost non-existent today. This trend is seen mostly in Polandand in the Czech Republic. Take-up is driven primarily by theautomotive industry, but the role of online retailers is gainingin importance,” says Ferdinand Hlobil, head of Cushman &Wakefield’s CE Industrial team.

“Poland’s industrial market is outperforming its neighbors inthe CEE region both in regards to new developments and takeup levels. Given the amount of warehouse space currentlyunder construction, this year’s supply is expected to be thehighest in the last five years. Take-up rose in H1 2014 by 20

percent compared with H1 2013 and leasing volume is expect-ed to remain high throughout the rest of the year. It is impor-tant to note that small-medium sized cities in Poland, close tolarge conurbations are also generating interest from develop-ers who plan to expand their development footprints,” saysTom Listowski, Partner, head of Industrial in Poland & CEECorporate Relations at Cushman & Wakefield.

DEVELOPMENT

520,000 sqm was built in the first half of the year; the full-yearfigure for last year was almost 700,000 sqm. Around 340,000 sqm of warehouse space was delivered in Poland in H1 2014,nearly as much as in the 12 months of 2013. The majority ofnew units in Central Europe have been built by four developers:Panattoni, PointPark Properties, Prologis and the MLP Group.

LEASE

In the first half of the year, companies leased almost 1.9 mil-lion sqm of prime industrial space (the same period last year:1.5 million sqm). The biggest take-up in the first half of theyear was in Poland with more than one million sq m leasedand in the Czech Republic with 570,000 sqm.

VACANCY

The strong take-up squeezed the average vacancy rateacross the region by more than one percent (from ten percentin January 2014 to nine percent in June). The decrease wasthe fastest in Hungary – by 3 percent. The lowest percentageof vacant space is in Slovakia (4 percent) and in the CzechRepublic (6.5 percent). In Poland, the vacancy rate fell signifi-cantly from 10.9 percent at year-end 2013 to 8.8 percent atthe end of June 2014, which indicates that the industrial mar-ket is definitely witnessing further expansion, especially in theestablished sub-markets.

OUTLOOK

For the rest of the year, experts at Cushman & Wakefieldexpect the industrial property market to grow at the same rateas it has to date. “Poland has been the leader of the develop-ment market in the last ten years and will remain so, not just inCentral European terms but on a European scale as well. Thisis primarily thanks to its constantly growing economy and theproactive approach of the country’s government. The Czechmarket will remain strong, but there is still room for improve-ment in terms of a more transparent and helpful approach onthe part of politicians regarding international investors. Ashortage of land prepared for industrial development appearsto be a barrier for the future,” Mr Hlobil says.

The Hungarian and Romanian markets are slowly beginningto experience a revival that goes hand-in-hand with the positive development across the Central European region andEurope as a whole. Co n t i n u e o n Pa g e 43 >

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 41

Large volumes of incoming new supply make fortenant favorable conditions across Central andEastern Europe’s main industrial city markets. As at2014 H1, circa 2.48 million square meters of newconstruction was underway. Approximately 86 per-

cent of this development is occurring in Moscow according torecent research released by Colliers International.

Colliers International has recently analyzed industrial marketmetrics for the first half of 2014 for select city industrial mar-kets within Central and Eastern Europe including Belgrade,Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Kyiv, Moscow, Prague, Sofia,Warsaw, Zagreb, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

Damian Harrington, Colliers International, regional director of

research for Eastern Europe, said: “In 2013 occupier demandfor logistics and distribution space was elevated with most mar-kets topping previous annual occupier take-up levels.”

While 2014 did not start off as strongly with transactionalactivity slightly down on the same time last year, by the secondquarter conditions improved and transactional activity liftedwith approximately 1.29 million square meters of industrialfloor space known to be either leased or sold during the firsthalf of the year.

In the first half of 2014, Warsaw experienced its highest grosstake-up of space over a six-monthly period since 2012 and inQ2, Budapest leased or sold around 80 percent of last year’svolume. Prague also had a solid start and is trending slightly

C EE’s main citiessee large industrial supplyWarsaw experienced its highest gross take-up of space over asix-monthly period since 2012

INDUSTRIA LNEWSTEXT NEWS DESK

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INTERIOR OF A LOGISTICS CENTER.

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 43

above the same time last year.

According to the report, as at 2014 H1, circa 2.48 millionsquare meters of new construction was underway. Approximately86 per cent of this development is occurring in Moscow, followedby 7 percent in the Baltics, 2 percent in Prague and in Kyiv, and 3percent across Warsaw, Bratislava and Sofia.

886,120 sqm of new industrial space has been delivered tothe market during the first half of 2014, 50 percent more thanthe same time last year.

Occupier demand is strengthening, particularly for built-to-suit and expansion space in the centralized logistic hubs of theCzech Republic, Poland and most recently Hungary. Increasingrequirements from e-commerce users, specialized transport &logistics operators such as multi/intermodal and the automo-tive manufacturing sector has begun to translate into transac-tional activity in many of these markets. We anticipate furtherstructural changes and growth in this sector within the CEEregion.

The report found that the regional vacancy rate is 7.4 per-cent, marginally down from 7.6 per cent in 2013. Despite thevolume of new supply coming through and currently underway,localized growth in many of the markets has appeared to offsetany major impacts to the regional vacancy rate in H1 2014.

Speculative construction remains conservative with new

development generally underpinned by occupiers who can pre-commit to lease or buy. The report found that 10 of the 13 citymarkets analyzed reported a stable or declining vacancy rate inH1 2014.

With the exception of Riga and Vilnius, all other markets sawprime warehouse rents level-out or decline marginally since H12013. A similar trend was found to exist for larger logistics & dis-tribution space. Bratislava, Tallinn and Vilnius had rental growthwhile in other markets rents stabilized or began to soften.

Occupier demand is strong and with large volumes of incom-ing new supply across the market there are an increasing num-ber of options for tenants and owners. Conditions aretenant-favorable and reduced pricing in some of the marketsallow for excess supply to be absorbed quickly as indicated inthe increased take-up level during Q2.

Colliers International is a global leader in commercial realestate services, with over 15,800 professionals operating out ofmore than 485 offices in 63 countries.

Colliers International has been active in the Czech marketsince 1994 g

< Co n t i n u e d f r o m Pa g e 41

H ungary in particular after a long period hassqueezed vacancy rates below 20 percent, and a

further improvement would be a clear signal for newmid-term development investments.

Slovakia is driven primarily by the Bratislava region andseveral major investments such as VW. A greater degreeof investment and project diversity in Eastern Slovakiawould certainly benefit the entire country.

“The political developments in Ukraine represent athreat for the Central European market. If the conflictescalates still further, we can expect increased prudencyon the part of investors. This may gradually cause themto ‘tighten the taps’, with developers being cut off from apart of their financial resources. Also, companies are likelyto cut down on their manufacturing expansion intoUkraine,” Hlobil adds.

Cushman & Wakefield advises and represents clientson all aspects of property occupancy and investment.Founded in 1917, it has 250 offices in 60 countries,employing more than 16,000 professionals. The firmentered the Czech market in 1993 and employs 128people in its Prague and Bratislava offices. g

MODERN STYLING WITH AMPLE SPACE

C EE OFFIC E MA RKETS

see highervacancy rates in H1

C EE OFFIC E MA RKETS

see highervacancy rates in H1

Office markets in Central and EasternEurope continue to be supply-led

through new development...

REGIONA LTRENDSTEXT NEWS DESK

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Anumber of markets experienced a rise in thevacancy rate of the back of a large volume ofnew supply through the end of 2013 into thefirst half of 2014 including St Petersburg,Moscow, Warsaw and Prague. The regional

vacancy rate increased to 13.6 percentin 2014 H1, up from 11.8 percent in H12013 according to recent researchreleased today Colliers International.

Damian Harrington, regional directorof research for Colliers International,Eastern Europe, said: “With a largeamount of new construction underwayor in the pipeline 2014 developmentactivity has continued to track along asimilar path to 2013. Approximately 1.2million sqm of new supply has alreadybeen delivered during the first half of2014 and with another 5.7 million sq munder construction there are no imme-diate signs that this trend is abating.”

Regionally, Moscow and St.Petersburg have been the most activein terms of new building completionsduring the first half of 2014, witharound 70 percent of total develop-ment activity. However, new develop-ment activity in other markets isbeginning to recover.

Warsaw is trending slightly above2013 levels and now accounts for 10percent of new construction in theregion.

Budapest, although only trackingaround 2.0 percent of the total, has alsoseen a turnaround in constructionactivity with the volume new officebuilding completions for 2014 alreadyabove 2013 levels. As at H1 2014, thevolume of office space under construc-tion in Budapest is at its highest levelsince 2010.

As the individual markets adjust tosuch a large volume of incoming newsupply, many have continued to experi-ence fluctuating vacancy rate condi-tions through the year.

Independently, a number of marketsexperienced a rise in the vacancy rate of the back of a largevolume of new supply through the end of 2013 into the firsthalf of 2014. This included St Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw andPrague.

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 45

The report found that the regional vacancy rate increased to13.6 percent in 2014 H1, up from 11.8 percent in H1 2013.

While overall gross take-up levels have eased when com-pared to the same time last year there are some good newsstories emerging with Budapest, Bratislava and Bucharest see-ing large increases in demand translate into occupationalactivity and subsequently a lower vacancy rate.

The report found that nine of the markets experienced animprovement in occupational take-up during the first half of2014 resulting in a lowering of the vacancy rate, includingSofia, Zagreb, Bucharest, Budapest, Belgrade, Bratislava, Tallinn,Riga and Vilnius.

As new supply came online during the first half of 2014,there was evidence that prime rents were continuing to adjustto this trend with values in some markets declining on averagebetween 2.0 – 7.0 percent since H1 2013, including Prague,Bucharest, Kyiv and Tallinn. However, with a noticeableimprovement in take-up levels during the last 3-5 months, weexpect that rents will now begin to level-out.

Although there was a slight downturn of rents in Prague,Bucharest, Kyiv and Tallinn, there were still a small number ofmarkets that experienced growth in the 12 months since H12013.

The report found that prime office rents have increased inSofia by 8.0 per cent and Belgrade by 3 per cent. During thesame period, average office rents rose 11 per cent in Sofia and7.0 per cent in Belgrade, Tallinn and Riga, and 4.0 per cent inVilnius.

Colliers International is a global leader in commercial realestate services, with over 15,800 professionals operating outof more than 485 offices in 63 countries. The latest annualsurvey by the Lipsey Company ranked Colliers International asthe second-most recognized commercial real estate firm inthe world.

Colliers International has been active in the Czech marketsince 1994. g

REGIONA LTRENDSTEXT NEWS DESK

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THE REPORT FOUND THAT THE RE-GIONAL VACANCY RATE INCREASEDTO 13.6 PERCENT IN 2014 H1, UPFROM 11.8 PERCENT IN H1 2013.

Completed and soon to be ready for occupancy.

The residential project DRAHOBEJLOVA in Prague’sVysočany, which is targeted at patrons of urbandesign housing, was commissioned and approved inAugust 2014, with new apartments ready for occu-pancy within the coming few weeks.

The developer reports 80% sales status in each apartment block.It has prepared a Grand opening on Saturday the 27th ofSeptember, from 10 AM until 4 PM, for clients and potential buyers,where those interested may observe the completed buildings, typi-cal layouts of finished apartments, as well as a fully furbished sam-ple apartment, which has been equipped in co-operation withdesigner Sharon Hindle.

The newly built apartment block drives inspiration from func-tional cubism, which one can observe by merely looking at itswhitewashed façade with projected bay windows, and austere ele-gance underlined by the generous glazing.

Its courtyard is designed in a highly interesting manner, with twomaisonnette ‘houses,‘ and with a parking zone hidden under agrass-surfaced roof. There will be shops and services available forresidents on the ground floor, facing the streets with glass store-fronts. New apartments of several sizes are complete with highstandards, ranging from studios to luxurious duplexes with uniquepanoramic views of Prague, with all apartments having a balcony,terrace or a loggia.

RESIDENCEDRAHOBEJLOVA

NOWLA UNC HINGTEXT SPONSORED

NOWLA UNC HINGTEXT SPONSORED

48

Some interesting aspects of this non-traditional projectinclude 1+1kk flexi apartments with upper standardsizes from 39m2 up to 68 m2, which the owner mayconvert into a 2+kk unit and adapt it to their needs.From an apartment meant for a single person or a cou-

ple, one can, with simple adjustments, adapt the space for familyliving with time.

A clear benefit of the location, which underwent radical changesover the last few years and became one of the most sought afterareas, ideal for work as well as living, is also the wide availability ofcivic amenities.

For example, the Hospital-Polyclinic in Vysočany, the MunicipalAuthority of Prague 9, the Post Office, as well department stores,smaller shops and restaurants. Additionally, there are several nurs-eries and schools in the vicinity of the residence. There is also anabundance of green areas for relaxation and sports, in close proxim-ity of the project, such as the beautiful Podvinní Park, or Rokytka.

Furthermore, the residence is merely a 4-minute walk to the metroČeskomoravská, and a few steps to malls Galerie Harfa or Fenix. g

- You can find out more information on www.drahobejlova.cz.

REAL ESTATE 09/2014 www.praguepost .com 49

Approximately 50 participants gathered togeth-er in Petřín Gardens to take part in the CBRESummer Olympic Games. The registrationfees raised a total of 150,000 Kč, which willbe multiplied by 9, due to a UK government

scheme, to a total of 1,350,000 Kč and donated to the PlanInternational charity project supporting education for children,particularly girls, in Sierra Leone. CBRE participates in the proj-ect across EMEA and the goal is to improve the chances of thechildren for a better life in the African country.

CBRE has committed itself to raising a minimum of€850,000 by means of contributions of its companies andemployees. The amount raised will be used for educationopportunity grants, refurbishing school buildings, training

teachers and assistants, supporting disabled children andimproving the quality of education at 780 schools in five dis-tricts in Sierra Leone. CBRE Czech Republic took part in thischarity effort Sept. 3 and supported the project by preparingan active afternoon full of Olympic sports activities for CBRE’sbusiness partners and employees.

“CBRE takes the fight against poverty very seriously andtherefore the partnership with Plan International is of keyimportance in terms of our social responsibility. The Olympicidea represents integration and peace, equality of rights with-out any prejudice and democracy, which are values that weregard as binding for our company. We are glad that we’ve suc-ceeded in attracting so many people who came to support theproject by their sporting achievements and good will,” said

C B REraises moneyfor education in Sierra LeoneGames in Petřínské Gardens provided the vital funds for a better futurefor children in Africa

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WILLIAM BUCKNELL, RADEK PODRAZIL, CLARE SHEILS, RICHARD CURRAN, PETR ČERVENÝ AND TOMÁŠ MATÝSEK PARTICIPATED IN THE PROJECT.

PHOTO: CBRE

Richard Curran, managing director of CBRE.

The partnership with the humanitarian organization PlanInternational was concluded in March this year and will lastthree years. Across EMEA, CBRE has so far succeeded in raising

€100,000. The CBRE Summer Olympics was the first fundraiseron behalf of the Czech office.

Other fundraising events are in the pipeline: Tomáš Jandík,associate director in the Czech Capital Markets team, is takingpart in the EMEA Cross Border Charity Challenge Marathon2014 in Frankfurt in October.

CBRE has also planned a so-called “C-Blue Day” for Dec. 10where all CBRE employees will have the opportunity to sup-port the Plan International initiative.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largestcommercial real estate services and investment firm (in termsof 2013 revenue).

The company has approximately 44,000 employees(excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investorsand occupiers through approximately 350 offices (excludingaffiliates) worldwide.

In the Czech Republic, CBRE has almost 350 employees andmanages nearly 200 commercial buildings with total areaalmost 1.2 million sqm. g

“CBRE TAKES THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY VERY SERIOUSLYAND THEREFORE THE PARTNERSHIP

WITH PLAN INTERNATIONAL IS OF KEYIMPORTANCE IN TERMS OF OUR SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY. THE OLYMPIC IDEAREPRESENTS INTEGRATION AND

PEACE, EQUALITY OF RIGHTS WITHOUTANY PREJUDICE AND DEMOCRACY,

WHICH ARE VALUES THAT WE REGARDAS BINDING FOR OUR COMPANY.

WE ARE GLAD THAT WE’VE SUCCEEDEDIN ATTRACTING SO MANY PEOPLE

WHO CAME TO SUPPORT THE PROJECTBY THEIR SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

AND GOOD WILL.”- RICHARD CURRAN,

MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CBRE.

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