Estonia's largest retail and logistics park with an end value of 250 million is to be developed by Helios Properties Plc and Süda Maja. DTZ acted as joint venture advisor for Süda Maja and will be retained as letting agents on the project.
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An artist's impression of American Corner.
The 84-hectare site, known as American Corner, is located at a major junction of the Tallinn Ring Road and the Tallinn-Tartu motorway seven minutes from the international airport and 15 minutes from the port and the center of the Estonian capital.
The joint venture between Helios Properties Plc and Süda Maja intends to develop 110,000 m² of retail warehouses and 185,000 m² of high grade logistics space with the intention of attracting major European retailers and distributors to this strategic location.
"American Corner will be a new high grade business and retail district with allocation for retail, business space, logistics and leisure. We expect to attract interest from national, regional and international companies. In the current climate this is a clear indication of the belief that the site is not only prime but that there is interest in making significant investments in the Baltic region in preparation for when the market improves," says Kevin Havill, Head of Retail Services, DTZ.
The scheme will have an end value of 250 million and funding is secured through Helios' Middle Eastern backers and local finance partners.
Construction is due to start in Q1 2010 with the first phase completed within 12 months. The scheme will be part pre-let and part speculative.
"We are delighted to have concluded our JV with Süda Maja which is a highly respected Estonian developer. This fantastically located site offers huge potential to provide high quality retail and logistics space in a market where there is a complete lack of competing product in the capital city of an EU country," says Michael Hughes, MD, Helios Properties Plc.
"It's great to have a strong partner like Helios on-board, they bring much technical knowledge and excellent connections that will enable us to realize this very exciting project for Estonia Süda," says Veiko Murruste, MD, Süda Maja.
Source: DTZ
