US-based real estate investor Amstar has joined forces with Poland's BBI Development to acquire the Zlota 44 tower development project in Warsaw from Orco Property Group for €63 mln. Zlota 44 is the tallest residential tower in the European Union.
US-based real estate investor Amstar has joined forces with Poland's BBI Development to acquire the Zlota 44 tower development project in Warsaw from Orco Property Group for €63 mln. Zlota 44 is the tallest residential tower in the European Union.
The acquisition, which includes loan receivables acquired from Poland's bank Pekao, represents the first foray by Denver-headquartered Amstar into the Polish property market.
At 192 meters high, with 54 floors and 251 luxury apartments, Z³ota 44 is the tallest residential tower in the European Union and one of the most prominent buildings in Warsaw. It was designed by the acclaimed Polish-born American architect Daniel Libeskind and is located in the centre of Warsaw, right next to the Palace of Culture, the Intercontinental Hotel as well as the Rondo I and Warsaw Financial Center office towers.
Amstar and BBI Development expect to complete the development next year with residents moving into the luxury apartments in 2016.
'Zlota 44 is a great challenge for us, but we are confident that our joint expertise in handling such projects, as well as the financial stability we provide, will allow us to bring to life this eponymous project,' commented Michal Skotnicki, CEO of Warsaw-listed BBI Development.
'After indepth analysis of market trends and potential partners, we are happy to join forces with BBI Development, and we look forward to working with them to apply our hands-on development capabilities to ensure a successful completion,' said Jason Lucas, president of Amstar Global Partners. 'We hope for further joint investments together with BBI, which we regard as very reliable and experienced development partner.'
Orco received the building permit for Zlota 44 in 2007 and effectively pre-sold 90 of the 255 apartments at the time but protests by a group of local residents resulted in the cancellation of the zoning plan and the building permit.
The owner won the appeal case in 2010 to get the residential zoning plan reinstated but the onset of the financial crisis and the difficult economic situation resulted in further delays in the development of the tower.
'We are pleased that this investment has put its setbacks - caused mainly by external factors, resulting from the financial crisis - behind it,' commented Tomas Salajka, CEO at Orco Property Group.
Orco, whose largest shareholder is Czech investor Radovan Vitek, estimated the total development cost for the project at €160 mln.
Dentons’ real estate team advised Orco on the sale.