(GDANSK, POLAND) – Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today the start of construction on Centrum Biurowe Neptun, a 19-story office building located at 107/109 Grunwaldzka Avenue in the Wrzeszcz district in Gdańsk, Poland.
Budimex S.A. the general contractor, is in the process of demolishing a shopping center currently on the site.
Construction on the new Class A building will begin in early 2012 with completion expected in the first quarter of 2014.
The project is being funded by the Hines International Real Estate Fund (HIREF).
Centrum Biurowe Neptun was designed by the leading international design firm, Aedas CE, which was chosen by Hines through an architectural competition.
The building will contain 170,650 square feet of office and retail space as well as three levels of underground parking for 159 vehicles. The ground floor and podium level will contain a restaurant, a newsstand and tenant conference rooms.
The building’s exterior will be clad in glass, aluminum and steel. Full-height windows will provide not only breathtaking views for those looking out, but also excellent access of daylight that will penetrate the building’s interior spaces. Floor plates will range in size from 8,500 square feet to 11,000 square feet.
Raised floors and suspended ceilings will allow for undisturbed distribution of the building’s systems and structural cabling, which will make future changes in the configuration of office spaces easier.
“We are delighted to bring this high caliber office building to this quickly developing commercial area in Gdansk’s Wrzeszcz district,” said Mieczysław Godzisz, managing director for Hines Poland.
“On the heels of our nearby Quattro Towers, we are delighted to continue our track record of delivering technically sophisticated, architecturally significant buildings.”
Hines has also started the building’s certification process for BREEAM, a voluntary measurement rating for green buildings that was established in the UK by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). It sets the standards for best practices in sustainable design and has become the measure to describe a building’s environmental performance. Obtaining the BREEAM certificate involves the need to meet several requirements for energy efficiency as well as the entire management process, from the design phase through construction phase and the control during the building’s operation.
Hines entered the Poland real estate market in 1997 with the development of Metropolitan, a Class A office building at Piłsudskiego Square in Warsaw.
Hines also developed the Impresja apartments in Wilanow, and the Sterlinga Business Center (awarded BREEAM certification) in Łódź, where the firm is also developing the Arboretum residential complex.
In Gdansk, Hines developed Quattro Towers, a nearby 16-story luxury residential complex.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,147 properties representing more than 462 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.
With offices in 108 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.4 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, BREEAM, Haute Qualité Environnementale and DGNB green building rating systems.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.