Skanska Bids Farewell to Office Building in Prague

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Skanska recently sold a Class A office building in Prague’s Karlin district for €55 million ($60.5 million) to the investment fund manager Invesco Real Estate. Both the sale and the transfer of the property are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Swedish developer announced.

Corso Court

This is the second office project acquired by Invesco from Skanska in Prague—back in 2014 the investment company paid €20 million ($22.05 million) for Skanska’s Riverview building located in the emerging Smichov district.

Located in a former industrial area in Prague and designed by Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) of Spain, Corso Court is part of an urban complex developed by the Karlin Group. According to Eurobuild, Skanska purchased the seven-story building two years ago for an undisclosed amount and immediately embarked on a €31 million ($34.15 million) redevelopment of the property that was completed last month. Corso Court offers 185,140 square feet of Class A office space, as well as an underground parking garage for 302 vehicles. The building, which has green features such as energy-efficient heating, ventilation and cooling systems, bike storage spaces, is expected to receive LEED Platinum certification.

Conveniently located near the city center and has immediate access to the Křižíkova metro station, restaurants, coffee shops and other amenities, Corso Court is an ideal location for large corporate tenants and medium-sized businesses.

Last month, online travel agent Expedia signed a lease agreement for 7,300 square meters (78,600 square feet) of office space at Corso Court and is expected to move its European back office operations in the building by the end of the year. The remaining space is occupied by Skanska, which is set to relocate its construction, development and residential divisions there. Monthly office rents at Corso Court are expected to yield around €15 ($16.58) per square foot, according to CIJJournal.com.

Image courtesy of Skanska