eKapija | 2017 RETROSPECTIVE – Investments in REAL ESTATE (residential and office space) which have caused the greatest interest among eKapija users

(Photo: Pavel L Photo and Video/shutterstock.com)

The investment team of eKapija has performed the analysis and formed the list of investments and investment ideas which caused the greatest interest among our users in 2017. The results are very interesting, some of them expected, though there are lots of surprises as well, which is why we`ve decided to share the information with you.

We present the most interesting projects in the REAL ESTATE (residential and office space) category.

The trend of “Belgradization” has continued, and this year`s list might as well be titled “Real Estate Belgrade”. Only two of the 23 most interesting stories that have drawn your attention take place outside the capital of Serbia.

Belgrade is traditionally growing vertically, with the number of floors growing along with the number of square meters. The market, however, still doesn`t seem to be satiated, as new skyscrapers grow ever higher, as do the investments.

You will have to wait a bit more for the final list, but we will reveal an interesting detail – this year, after three summers of Belgrade Waterfront`s domination, the first place belongs to another project. Don`t worry, though – several veteran competitors are still there, but there are also some entirely new players.

What marked 2017 in Belgrade is the flourishing of semi-indoor residential-office complexes, that is, a growing number of condominiums. The rise of the investments in Vozdovac, which is becoming one of the favorite locations, continues, although the traffic problems in certain parts of this municipality probably won`t be solved any time soon. On the other side of the river, there`s almost no space left, so it`s no wonder that everyone is interested to see what will happen to the few free parcels.

The last year was also marked by another announcement of a project in which the state acts as a big investor, the construction of “cheap apartments”, and the idea about affordable housing was also actualized “privately” by Bogoljub Karic.

Before we reveal the list, the editorial team wants to repeat its last year`s comment – although construction site activities are a good sign, we would be glad to see at least a part of the focus shift to other towns and municipalities.

And the winner is...

Future look of Skyline complex in the Kneza Milosa Street (Photo: Ami Mur, SkyLine)

...the Skyline complex in the Kneza Milosa Street. The exclusive towers dethroned the Belgrade Waterfront after three years of leadership on our list.

The Skyline complex is worth EUR 200 million and will consist of three towers – an office tower and two residential ones. In total, there should be around 100,000 m2 of office, residential and retail space here. The company behind the project is AFI Europe, one of the leading companies in the field of real estate development and investments in central and eastern Europe. The company is already present with the projects Airport City Belgrade and (together with Shikun & Binui Group) the Central Garden condominium. The exclusive sales representative for Skyline is CBS International (CBRE Srbija).

This year`s debutant, Stattwerk`s future green building in Zeleni Venac, earned the prestigious second place.

The former Beobanka building has a new owner and can now hope to get a new purpose as well. Germany`s Stattwerk, as announced, plans to build the first green skyscraper in Belgrade in this location. It will be home to an electric vehicle salon and office space of green companies, startups and other organizations. Stattwerk put the design in charge of the best, and the conceptual design was selected at an architectural contest by an international jury.

The Belgrade Waterfront placed third this year. The project, which is one of the biggest construction endeavors of the decade, whether one likes it or not, continues to develop. The first residents are expected to move in this spring. The main works on the biggest shopping center in the region, BW Gallery, have started, as has the sale of luxury brand St. Regis apartments, the first of their kind in Europe.

Zemunske Kapije placed fourth, a great jump from the twelfth spot on the 2016 list. Great changes took place in the location of the former Aleksa Dundic barracks in the meantime. The construction of the first three buildings began this summer, and the first residents are expected to move in in September 2018.

Future look of Vozdove Kapije

Two new stars of Vozdovac, Vozdove Kapije and Panorama Vozdovac, placed fifth and sixth respectively.

The construction of the first condominium in Vozdovac began last March, and the works are progressing at a great pace. Vozdove Kapije will consist of more than 700 housing units, with an underground parking space, retail space on the ground floor, meant for various services, as well as an indoor private park on 7,000 m2. This project is a continuation of the activities of the Israeli Shikun and Binui Group in the market of Serbia.

The company Alpros is building four residential blocks with 187 apartments, three commercial spaces and four outlets on the corner of the Vojvode Stepe Street and the Kruzni Put Vozdovacki Street. The Panorama Vozdovac complex will also feature 219 garage spaces on three underground tiers. As announced, the moving in is planned for September 2019.

Mikisko Polje, an area of 680 ha, one of the four big areas in Belgrade the development of which is planned in the upcoming period (along with the Belgrade Waterfront, Ada Huja and Block 18) takes the seventh place on our list. In this future settlement, for which the city is currently developing planning documentation, as much as four million square meters might be built, amounting to around 10,000 apartments for around 31,000 residents. The solution awarded at the architectural contest for the future look of Makisko Polje, envisages a new bicycle-footbridge across the Savska Magistrala Street, which should provide a connection with Ada Ciganlija. Bogoljub Karic has announced several times that the Tesla City project might be realized in Makis. Karic said that a square meter would cost around EUR 500. However, this megalomaniac announcement, now 20 years old, has not yet been realized.

The eighth spot belongs to the development of blocks 12 and 13, the urban plans which envisage a total transformation of the area close to the YUBC.

The Draft Detailed Regulation Plan has been prepared for an area of nearly 7.95 hectares in a part of block 12 in New Belgrade, which allows the construction of around 900 apartments, as well as office space where around 1,270 people might be employed, next to the park, which will be preserved.

On the other hand, architects propose for a concert hall with a green roof (for the future Philharmonic building), a shopping mall and four skyscrapers to be built in block 13. It remains to be seen how realistic these plans are, but our readers certainly found them interesting.

Paunov Breg

The Paunov Breg settlement in Banjica, which is to get another building, placed ninth on our list. A shopping center and two residential buildings have been built within the complex, and Paunov Breg will also get the “Center” building, with a view to the future square with a fountain, by November 2018.

The top 10 is rounded up by the complex in the location of the former US embassy in the Kneza Milosa Street. The building has been demolished, and the investors have announced that the new residential-office complex might be completed by 2019. As already reported, there should be 260 luxury apartments here.

The 11th spot belongs to GREEN HEART, the business complex to be built in the Milutina Milankovica Street (investment of GTC), and BS Investment Group, which is preparing a big project in downtown Belgrade, Green Residence, placed 12th.

The construction of the first 400,000 m2 of inexpensive apartments for the military, the police and security services in several towns in Serbia is to begin no later than May 2018, as announced by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic. This state housing project placed 13th.

The eight-floor building of Finvest, the company which has already raised several buildings in the Zrmanjska Street in Banovo Brdo, placed 14th, whereas the 15th spot belongs to the Business Garden tower.

Ziegel House in Vracar placed 16th, the seventeenth spot belongs to the idea for a residential-office complex in the location of the Tito Shipyard, and the plans for the popular location near Arena (blocks 25 and 26) placed eighteenth. The nineteenth spot belongs to the revitalized plan of the construction of Kalemegdan Park, but this project is also waiting for better days. The twentieth place belongs to Energoprojekt`s Sunnyville complex in Visnjicka Banja, and the Dutch company Pinnacle, which is looking to do construction in the location of Beko, placed 21st. The list is rounded up by another project in Zemun, Gornji Grad (22nd spot) and the Metalac building in Gornji Milanovac (23rd spot).

Take a look at the complete list on investments in the REAL ESTATE (residential and office space) category and compare it with your own thoughts, estimates and projections.

Also, have you seen our list of the projects that have caused the greatest interest in the INDUSTRY and AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY categories?