Cautiously and sensitively

Under construction and planned
Raiffeisen evolution is currently in the process of developing the Floreasca City Center mixed-use project in Bucharest. The FCC Office and Sky Tower (16,000 sqm) office buildings have already been completed, with the Promenada shopping centre (55,000 sqm) to be opened in October. In the meantime, the company has sold the office section of Floreasca City Center to the Raiffeisen Property Holding International group, which together with Raiffeisen Bank Romania leases the entire building and has just moved into its new headquarters. The purchase of the 11 ha plot in the northern part of Bucharest for the Floreasca project was one of the largest transactions of its kind in Romania in 2008. "We expected the CEE market to develop faster than it actually did, believing that in 2012 the markets would return to the road of stable growth, but this seems to have only partially happened. The Russian market is currently doing well and has promising prospects ahead of it; and stability is slowly returning to the Romanian market. This is unfortunately not the case in Ukraine or Bulgaria," remarks Markus Neurauter, one of the managing directors of Raiffeisen evolution. In Kyiv the company is now preparing the Sholudenko mixed-use project, which (depending on the plan eventually chosen) could combine office and retail space with apartments. Meanwhile, in Sofia the company has already completed a residential project that is now available for sale. "We also have two plots in Bulgaria, but they are waiting for better times," adds Gerald Beck, another managing director of Raiffeisen evolution. The Hungarian plans of the Austrian developer are also waiting for the economy. "We are planning to revive our projects there, but the situation needs to stabilise," claim the heads of Raiffeisen evolution. So far the company is focusing on the certs: Austria and Poland. "Once the CEE market has healed itself, then we will be thinking about investing our money. The company is very flexible in this respect. At this time we are investing in the residential market in Austria and the retail market in Poland," explains Markus Neurauter.

Long-awaited project
In Poland RE Project Development is led by Maciej Krenek. The history of the company on the Polish market is mainly that of its network of Ferio convenience shopping centres. Such centres have been built - and subsequently sold - in Konin, Legnica, and Wrocław, wile the Galeria Zielona centre was built and sold in Puławy. Work on its Warsaw mall project in Wawer, Ferio Wawer, has recently been sped up. The plot entered the company's portfolio in 2003, but the developer had to wait ten years for the local zoning plan to be passed. "We now have the complete documentation needed to apply for a building permit. The application should be on the desks of the district authorities by the end of second quarter," reveals Maciej Krenek. The development of the centre at the junction of ul. Szpotańskiego and ul. Żegańska, will involve the partial modernisation of buildings of the former Zakłady Wytwórcze Aparatury Wysokiego Napięcia (ZWAR) plant. The retail area of the project will amount to 12,500 sqm. "We have plans for 40-50 shops, but eventually the number will depend on negotiations with tenants. Advanced negotiations are taking place with major retail chains, but I cannot disclose which brands are to feature in the centre at this time. There is a lot of interest because Wawer is a 'retail desert'," according to Maciej Krenek. When will Ferio Wawer bring a much needed oasis to this desert? "The construction work could start at the end of Q3 2013. So the centre would then be ready to open at the beginning of 2015," reveals the Polish head of RE Project Development. This scenario would also be convenient for another of the company's projects - Ferio Pogodno in Szczecin. However, the construction work on the facility has stalled due to a dispute between the developer and seller of the land. The mall should eventually be built in Szczecin's Pogodno district, on the site of the former Polmo factory on al. Wojska Polskiego. Its total area would amount to 44,200 sqm, 31,500 sqm of which would be leasable, with 100 stores.

A long tradition
Raiffeisen evolution is developing projects in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia. "Our experience goes back 20-25 years. As a team we have developed dozens of office and retail projects in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe. Our roots lie in the Raiffeisen Bank group and Strabag, which provides us with a stable base for development operations. So far we have completed 4,700 apartments and 1,300 hotel rooms in different categories, from economy-class hotels to luxury facilities. This is a total area of app. 660,000 sqm. Our portfolio is worth EUR 1 bln," conclude Gerald Beck and Markus Neurauter.