50
REAL ESTATE review
Agora Tower in Budapest by HB Reavis.
OFFICE DEVELOPMENT SITES MORE DIFFICULT TO SOURCE As developers look to go ahead with office developments to meet strong demand, there is increasing competition for suitably-sized sites that provide visibility and meet the requirements of tenants and staff regarding access to amenities and public and road transportation links. By Gary J. Morrell Third-party sustainability accreditation organizations such as BREEAM, LEED and WELL have requirements that include locational and urban development issues. The norm is now for developers to source sites with direct access to local amenities and metro, train, bus and tram
stops, which are all seen as basic requirement of tenants and staff working in office centers. “Every project and every office is individual as it depends on the type of activities and services that are conducted in the building. For example, buildings serving industrial or airport type facilities often need
to be located outside of the urban areas, without metro connections,” comments Zsombor Barta, president of the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGB). “However, office buildings should be connected to a good public Continued on page 52 ► ► ►
