Modest beginnings but more to come
"We will do it again next year," said Michal Kosyrz, vice president of redNet. "This is the beginning of something that had never previously happened in Central Europe and the signs are promising, indicating that it will eventually have an important influence on the real estate market in the region."
Admitting that there was "room for improvement," Kosyrz maintained that redNet "has bigger plans" and that next year there "will be more exhibitors, more attendees and the conferences will be bigger."
There seemed little wrong with the organization of the fair this time round and registration was handled by young women manning the reception stand politely and efficiently. Numbers aside, there were shades of far more established events, such as MiPiM, and a hefty resource pack within a special-issue CEPIF satchel was handed to each participant once they'd completed the registration process. Impressively, the publications inside included notables such as the British Property Week and the new, pan-European REurope.
The exhibition hall itself was neatly planned and staffed by enthusiastic and helpful representatives. The TriGranit stall, however, stood out with its slightly ominous pledge: "Our aim is to be the dominant Central European real estate company," which was emblazoned on the background banner. Perhaps it was the forthright presence of the Hungarian developer that hinted at a bright future for CEPIF, whose avowed intention is to act as a rallying point for the property market across Central Europe. TriGranit's high profile at the fair symbolized the increased cross-border activity of a number of developers based in the region, while two of its representatives, Imre Mécs and István Sokorai, gave a presentation on Public-Private Partnerships in the Concert Hall up on the sixth floor of the Palace. Lokale also conducted an impromptu interview with Aleksander Kowalski, the Polish Leasing Manager of Silesia City Center, which was recently acquired by TriGranit (under rather controversial circumstances, it has to be said) and is to offer 65,000 square meters of retail and entertainment to the city of Katowice in October 2005.
"We received the building permit in January and we've started to re-develop parts of the project," said Kowalski. "We're changing the corridors, entrances and shape of the building."
Under the project's former owners Chelverton, there were two real estate agencies, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield H&B, charged with leasing the space. Under TriGranit, however, their services will no longer be required. "TriGranit never uses agents," said Kowalski. "In our experience, anchor tenants prefer to talk directly to the developer." With further projects planned across Poland, the Hungarians look set to cause even more of a stir in this market.
The panel discussions and presentations that were held on the sixth floor of the building drew a mixed response from the participants. There were certainly a lot of empty seats in evidence and not only among the audience. "There were too few people on the panels, I felt," said Ann Starczewska of CB Richard Ellis. As for the content of the conferences, some of it proved useful; much, however, did not. "I thought what the architect [Eric Kuhne, at the presentation on City and Trade] had to say was very interesting," said Pierre Couderq, of Couderq Binswanger Poland, "but I didn't like the panel discussions, because I heard nothing that I didn't know already."
Other complaints were that the location wasn't ideal and that there was too much distance between the exhibition and conferences: a six-floor elevator journey was necessary to get from one to the other. Most people Lokale spoke to did, however, accentuate the positive. "It was very important to do something like this," added Pierre Couderq about the fair as a whole, and these sentiments were echoed by Agnieszka Suzuki of the architects Burksgreen: "I think it was very good and should develop more. It's just a pity that it wasn't twice as big."
Admitting that there was "room for improvement," Kosyrz maintained that redNet "has bigger plans" and that next year there "will be more exhibitors, more attendees and the conferences will be bigger."
There seemed little wrong with the organization of the fair this time round and registration was handled by young women manning the reception stand politely and efficiently. Numbers aside, there were shades of far more established events, such as MiPiM, and a hefty resource pack within a special-issue CEPIF satchel was handed to each participant once they'd completed the registration process. Impressively, the publications inside included notables such as the British Property Week and the new, pan-European REurope.
The exhibition hall itself was neatly planned and staffed by enthusiastic and helpful representatives. The TriGranit stall, however, stood out with its slightly ominous pledge: "Our aim is to be the dominant Central European real estate company," which was emblazoned on the background banner. Perhaps it was the forthright presence of the Hungarian developer that hinted at a bright future for CEPIF, whose avowed intention is to act as a rallying point for the property market across Central Europe. TriGranit's high profile at the fair symbolized the increased cross-border activity of a number of developers based in the region, while two of its representatives, Imre Mécs and István Sokorai, gave a presentation on Public-Private Partnerships in the Concert Hall up on the sixth floor of the Palace. Lokale also conducted an impromptu interview with Aleksander Kowalski, the Polish Leasing Manager of Silesia City Center, which was recently acquired by TriGranit (under rather controversial circumstances, it has to be said) and is to offer 65,000 square meters of retail and entertainment to the city of Katowice in October 2005.
"We received the building permit in January and we've started to re-develop parts of the project," said Kowalski. "We're changing the corridors, entrances and shape of the building."
Under the project's former owners Chelverton, there were two real estate agencies, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield H&B, charged with leasing the space. Under TriGranit, however, their services will no longer be required. "TriGranit never uses agents," said Kowalski. "In our experience, anchor tenants prefer to talk directly to the developer." With further projects planned across Poland, the Hungarians look set to cause even more of a stir in this market.
The panel discussions and presentations that were held on the sixth floor of the building drew a mixed response from the participants. There were certainly a lot of empty seats in evidence and not only among the audience. "There were too few people on the panels, I felt," said Ann Starczewska of CB Richard Ellis. As for the content of the conferences, some of it proved useful; much, however, did not. "I thought what the architect [Eric Kuhne, at the presentation on City and Trade] had to say was very interesting," said Pierre Couderq, of Couderq Binswanger Poland, "but I didn't like the panel discussions, because I heard nothing that I didn't know already."
Other complaints were that the location wasn't ideal and that there was too much distance between the exhibition and conferences: a six-floor elevator journey was necessary to get from one to the other. Most people Lokale spoke to did, however, accentuate the positive. "It was very important to do something like this," added Pierre Couderq about the fair as a whole, and these sentiments were echoed by Agnieszka Suzuki of the architects Burksgreen: "I think it was very good and should develop more. It's just a pity that it wasn't twice as big."
