A new multifunctional building called Centrale is being built in Budapest, located near the Puskas Ferenc Stadion metro station. Developed by Chain Bridge Ventures Ltd and designed by Banati + Hartvig Architects, the 29,000m2 development will offer commercial and service space, a food and beverage hub, offices, and a hotel. It aims to cater to the needs of the diverse mix of users in the area, including transport, residential, office, and event users. The building will have a lightweight steel structure sitting on top of the metro and will be complemented by a large green roof and landscaped areas, making it one of Hungary's largest commercial green roofs.
“Already back when the Papp Laszlo Arena was announced to be redeveloped and the football stadium would have sooner or later been redeveloped as well, I realized that the area has great potential Seeing the dilapidated state of the Puskas Ferenc Stadion station and buildings, I had the vision of extracting value out of otherwise disused lands on top of a public transport site, as is popular in modern cities around the world. I began to implement this vision but it has been a very long road and complicated process due to the legal, legislative, and technical nature of this project, involving numerous public stakeholders. Putting this puzzle together needed a lot of vision and perseverance; luckily enough all involved parties understood the vision and the need to drive this site forward for the sake of the public realm and the major public investments that occurred and will occur in this area. I wish to thank all involved public stakeholders, namely the State, Zuglo municipality, BKV transport authority, the Budapest Central municipality, the National Sports Ministry, and many more,” said Michael Gagel, partner of Chain Bridge Ventures Ltd.
Developers will improve the Puskas Ferenc Stadion metro station by redeveloping the station entrances and adding new escalators. This will lead directly to the commercial passage of the complex, making it more comfortable for passengers. The developers will also renovate the connecting public areas, including the establishment of a 2,500m2 green park and a bicycle lane along Kerepesi ut. The BKV Transport Authority will work closely with the developers to minimize traffic flow changes during the construction period.
“Recognising the trend of people being constantly on the move and looking for fast, convenient solutions, we designed Centrale to be a compact community space adapted to the urban lifestyle, and as Zuglo’s and the wider neighbourhoods’ daily convenience center. In response to the challenges of modern living, we offer a unique mixed-use solution that stands out from traditional shopping centres and standalone office and hotel assets. The carefully put together mixed use elements will be a rare example of where the ‘sum of the parts is greater than the whole’. I can report that although we have been in a challenging economic environment, the market and potential tenants that we have discussed the project with have all understood its power and future potential. This has allowed us to achieve a nearly 50% pre-lease even before we had a building permit in place. We will make further announcements on this in the near future,” said Beni Gagel, partner of the Centrale project and the Chain Bridge Ventures Ltd.
The building is expected to be completed in 2026.
Image provided by Mitte.
