Karimpol has opened the first phase of its Squarebizz Bory, its new Slovak industrial project. The first phase consists of three buildings offering a total of 15,000 sqm and around 2,000 sqm of office space. Another three buildings should complete by next spring for several tenants who have agreed to lease them. The concept can offer attractive, tailor-made space which good access to the Bratislava region. “We have more than ten successful brands signed up to Squarebizz Bory and an excellent occupancy rate of more than 80% for the first 15,000 square meters, that we have brought to Bratislava,” says Edik Plätzer, Partner at Karimpol Group. TȔV-SȔD, FITHAM, and a Kellys Factory Store are already in full operation, with ExpresPrint, Alpod, and the Valivé ložiská due to trading within a couple weeks. Virtuplex should open a new virtual reality studio by fall.
The Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs called on Hungary to be up front about Slovak real estate acquisitions after it was revealed that its southern neighbor has been quietly closing deals. Aktuality.sk writes that a foundation with close connections to prime minister Viktor Orban has been picking up properties for the past two years and that it has around €11 million in capital to spend. The Slovak vehicle through which the deals were taking place is called Manevi SK, but that it’s really acting for a fund whose name translates as the Central European Foundation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. Among the properties it’s acquired are a castle in the village of Betlanovec, two buildings in Kezmarok and in Trencin, and a clinic in Košice. Hungary’s foreign minister said the acquisitions were purely business investments and he called on journalists not to start thinking up conspiracy theories about them. But he was realistic: “I realize that headlines about Orban get a lot of reads in your country.”
The American automobile supplier Shape has signed up to be the first tenant at Panattoni Park Pilsen West II. The company expects to employ up to 700 people at the 36,400 sqm facility where production should begin halfway through 2023. “The automobile industry is going through a revolution, but some disciplines will continue to be active even after the end of combustion engines,” said Panattoni’s director Pavel Sovička. Shape produces crash-management components for the car sector. The new building, which is being built on a brownfield site, will have solar panels on its roof and be built to BREEAM New Construction standards.
