2024/03/15
Real estate company Realco announces that it has started the leasing process for the Hero business centre being developed in Vilnius' central business district. The company has not only strengthened its internal team, but has also signed an agreement with the real estate consultancy company Newsec, which will be actively looking for tenants. Hero will add 32,000 sqm of leasable space to the capital's Class A office market. It is planned that the new business centre will be available for occupation in summer 2025.
"The construction of the Hero Business Centre is now in full swing, so we are also focusing on the leasing process. To this end, we have recently strengthened our internal team with the addition of Gintarė Žemaitė, a commercial property management and leasing expert with many years of successful experience in managing large-scale projects. We have also selected an experienced partner, Newsec, and are actively starting to lease business centre space. The project will be completed in the summer of 2025 and our aim is to have as much leased area as possible at the opening of the business centre and to be able to hear the buzz of the tenants in the common areas from the very first days. We believe that we will achieve our goals, as we have received a lot of interest from the market from the very beginning of the construction of the business centre, which gives us reasonable optimism," comments Julius Dovidonis, the CEO of Realco.
According to Indrė Juščė, Head of Office Solutions at Newsec, Hero is a highly anticipated project on the market not only because of its special features, but also because of the very limited supply of new class A offices in Vilnius' central business district.
"In 2024, the supply of new office space on the Vilnius market will reach only 33,000 sqm, and not a single business centre will open for lease in the central business district. In 2025, the supply of new office space is expected to be higher, but also modest at 85,000 sqm. This situation is likely to lead to an increase in pre-letting agreements. In addition, the Hero Business Centre has some unique features in the market. One of them is that the building will offer tenants as much as 4,000 sqm of office space on one floor. This will make it easier for large companies to relocate their offices to the central business area," says I. Juščė.
According to the expert, another significant feature of the project is the commitment of the leasing company to fully furnish the office space in accordance with the prepared interior design for the proposed rental price. This will simplify the office relocation process for companies that do not have the in-house human resources to design and furnish the premises, or have not allocated the funds to do so.
I. Juščė says that, although the number of foreign investors renting offices has decreased in recent years, there has been an increase in the activity of local companies. In 2023, around 30% of office lease contracts in the capital were concluded with representatives of the IT sector, around 20% - with companies from the financial sector and 8% - with logistics and aviation companies. Several large office lease transactions in Class A business centres in the central business district of Vilnius were also recorded with energy companies.
"Currently, the most attractive offices in Vilnius are those where the landlords offer already furnished premises or the possibility to do it efficiently, in a standardised way and without requiring a large involvement of the tenant. The winners are also those who can offer flexible lease terms and conditions to their tenants," says I. Juščė.
According to Gintarė Žemaitė, Head of Commercial Real Estate Development at Realco, tenants of the Hero business centre will be provided with fully furnished Class A offices and an attractive package of commercial terms and value-added. There will be a choice of standard office space of 200-800 sqm, as well as the possibility to conveniently accommodate larger companies with a space requirement of 1,500 sqm or even 4,000 sqm on one floor.
Strategically located in the city, tenants of Hero will benefit from functional common areas, including a panoramic rooftop terrace with a 300 m running track, a health food restaurant, wellness facilities, spaces for socialising, relaxation and sports, facilities for employees arriving by bicycle, a library, and thoughtful architectural, technical and design solutions focused on well-being and total comfort.
"We are developing the business centre in accordance with the world-class sustainability and well-being standards BREEAM Excellent New Construction and WELL Gold. This allows us to guarantee that the premises of the business centre will create a new generation and qualitatively unparalleled working environment, which will maximally meet the requirements of sustainability, ecology, environmental protection and will focus on the well-being of employees," - says G. Žemaitė.
Demands on offices are constantly growing, and today it is no longer enough just to have a good location and high energy efficiency. A lot of attention must be paid to the accessibility, infrastructure, services, interior design, and sustainability of the offices.
"We will strive to ensure all this in our business centre Hero," concludes the expert from Realco, the company developing the business centre.