In late March (26. and 27. March 2010) will be held the first international real estate and investment fair in Slovenia – PROPRIO. Original PROPRIO is basically fair manifestation with many parallely organized presentations, promotions and discussions that will have educational character. The fair will present the Slovenian and international agencies dealing with real estate development, brokerage companies that offer mediation in the area of real estate lending and acquisitions, economic and legal counseling, investors, building surveying and engineering companies, banks, insurance companies, investment funds and other actors who are active in the field of real estate development business. Knowing that there is a big crisis in the field of real estate development, organizers evaluate that this area is yet to be judged as the most dynamic and most interesting segment of the economy. This will be an opportunity to all interested professionals who deal with a wide range of activities in the field of real estate development to exchange relevant information in mutual communication and initiate new partnerships in the field of buying, selling, renting, renovation and property insurance.

5. Experts Forum
Regioplan Consulting is organizing the fifth Experts Forum in Vienna, on 29th October 2009, this year under the title: "CEE/SEE Markets: Did We Come to Stay?”
RegioPlan Consulting is an international consultant with head office in Vienna specialized on location consulting and market analyses in Austria and Eastern Europe. For over 25 years Regioplan has been the business consultant of Ikea, Marionnaud, Deichmann, Rodamco Europe, ECE, Bank Austria Real Invest, and many other companies on the issues of location, consumers, trade and market in Austria and CEE/SEE. Having carried out more than 3,000 studies in 24 European countries, Regio-plan is the absolute address for interregional and international surveys. For more than 10 years Re-gioplan Consulting has been organizing own conferences and seminars that have become the must-attend events in real estate business.
At the beginning of the year, prior to Real Vienna, with approximately 350 participants, the greatest Regioplan’s conference takes place: The Shopping Center Symposia whose 11th edition has per-formed this year. Tops experts give lectures and reports on development and trends in the shopping center landscape in Austria and Eastern Europe. In autumn, the Experts Forum that has firmly es-tablished as the largest CEE real estate coference in Austria takes place for the 5th time this year. The conference performs in German and English languages.
The 5th Experts Forum theme addresses the current economic situation in CEE/SEE region and the resulting consequences for the investors, project operators and developers, top executives from retail trade industry and service providers. Many people put a question mark over the potential fu-ture markets in the CEE/SEE region. Was is the right decision to focus on those markets? How do trade, investors and developers deal with the current situation and what is coming next? New sce-narios and tangible ideas for positive development are in demand more than ever. Distinguished companies debate on acquired experiences, prospects for the future and, above all, how to launch the projects worth of investments and/or what projects can be financed at all.
In Vienna, on 29th October, many famous people will gather to exchange views about the future of the CEE market, get into touch and closer contacts and find new ideas. On the platform will be: Dr. Bruno Ettenauer (CA Immo International AG), KommR. Prof. Alfons Metzger FRICS CRE (MRG Metzger Realitäten), Roger Hambidge BA MRICS (Mosaic Property LLP), Mag. Wolfgang Mitterberger (Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG), Per Wendschlag (Inter IKEA Shopping Centre Group), Mar-kus Pinggera (Deichmann SchuhvertriebgesmbH), Alexander Korosec (Bestseller Handels GmbH), DI Wolfgang Richter (RegioPlan Consulting GmbH), etc.

EXPO Italia 2009 was held between June 9 and 12 in Milan. It was the fourth issue of the manifestation, which is also known as EIRE, that is, Expo Italia Real Estate. EIRE is the event that is dedicated to real estate development achievements. It was organized at a different time than the last year, so that Real Vienna and EXPO Italia finally took place at different times. The increase in number of visitors and larger exhibition space than at the last year’s issue of EIRE already showed how long-sighted and effective that move was. This expo is primarily intended for Italian investors who, first of all, want to present their latest achievements, as well as to get potential developers interested in presenting their projects and ideas at this exhibition in Milan, that is, at “this real estate stock exchange“. Some of the “interesting“ markets whose appearance at this year’s EIRE drew the attention of visitors are Brasil, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Greece and Turkey. Turks especially stood out in the search for fresh investment capital, and they also benefited from the official visit of Turkish Prime Minister who, by visiting the national booth of Turkey, drew additional attention to their appearance and potentials for further development of Turkish real estate market.
As far as Serbia and promotion of its existing potentials related to real estate development are concerned, once again we did not have any exhibitors at EIRE. But that was the reason for initiation of a campaign for presentation of 4 projects whose quality, scope, nature of future use and expected engineering activities make them recommendable for future investment partnerships. That is why a mini presentation of projects by East Point, Port Beograd, Rudnap Group and Right Choice was organized. Judging from the first impressions, the presentation was excellent.
The representative of forthcoming REBEC used the visit to EIRE to get its hosts familiar with the details of this year’s programme, as well as with the contents and editorial policy of specialized magazine AG Real Estate. It can already be concluded that the quality of appearance of selected projects from Serbia at next year’s issue will be very high. After a three-year break, that will be an opportunity for Serbian real estates to, once again, draw attention of the investors who visit EIRE in Milan every year!

Models of project financing, energy efficient and healthy buildings, influence of quality construction to property value, dominant tendencies in aesthetic design, the greatest challenges in construction performance on contemporary facilities, problems that the architects face at facilities reconstructions – are only a part of the themes to which the experts were answering during BLOK Conference which took place at Zira Hotel in Belgrade on Thursday, 4 June.
At the first Architecture and Real Estate Conference BLOK, distinguished experts from Denmark (Andreas Klok Pedersen, BIG), Great Britain (Ken Allinson, Architectural Dialogue; Victoria Thornton, Open House), Singapore (Dr Ružica Božović Stamenović, National University of Singapore), and also from the region and Serbia (Saša Begović, 3LHD, Zagreb; Vladislav Ilić, Smith Hodgkinson; Richard Hazell, Colliers International; Danijela Ilić, Operational Center of Asset Valuers; Marija S. Todorović, VEA; Milan Dimitrijević, architect; Olivera Blažić, architect) gave their presentations.
“We initiated BLOK Conference with a desire to set this field in motion and promote it. Quality construction is important for the professionals in this industry, but even more for daily life of the citizens. We are sure that already the first BLOK will contribute to standards enhancement in architecture and construction, and we plan to make this conference a traditional gathering of experts and the place for exchange of experience with the leading world experts in architecture, design and construction”, stated Snežana Marković, Director of the company “Projemetal” who organized this conference.
BLOK Conference was opened on 3 June with the presentation of the book “ZIRA CONCEPT BUILDING”, the first book on a contemporary facility in Belgrade, and the exhibition dedicated to adaptation of Robne Kuće Beograd. The project RKB Reconstruction, one of the most complex assignments in our construction engineering, was performed by company “Projmetal” simultaneously protecting the familiar brand of Robne kuće Beograd and designing the appearance and technology of the most state-of-the-art facilities.

Belgrade International Architecture Week 2009 (BINA ’09) – titled simply RE... as an indicator of this year’s theme – is dedicated to the crucial issue of the relationship to the existing urban and architectural surroundings and possibilities of its permanent REproduction, actively involved in the projects for the future. The desire of the organizers is to revise the traditional concepts of REconstruction and REvitalization of the cultural heritage, mainly controlled by stiff methodologies promoted by lethargic institutions, suggesting new concepts that can help REgeneration and REintegration of the existing architectural framework into the lively contemporary practice. The theme of sustainable development and urban REcycling has been widely discussed in technologically advanced countries conscious of the fact that the racing powers of modernity have to be correlated to the inherited values. New generations of architects have started REthinking the potentials of their immediate surroundings in a more delicate manner than could be seen at the glamorous achievements of ‘’starchitects’’ who often forget to consider all the layers and qualities of the inherited context in favour of celebrating their own brands and requirements of the investors. The aim it to find and present the new way of thinking by those who argue for REaffirmation of the inherited REsources in the service of creativity and who pay attention to RE... in spite of the requests of investors, blinded by an easy profit expressed in square meters as much as aspirations for a ‘’wow-effect’’ architecture, but also argue against administrative norms invented by promoters of bureaucratized pseudo-tradition.
Belgrade International Week of Architecture 2009 will gather again various professionals involved in REthinking of urban context, various generations who will share old ideas with the new ones, and representatives from different countries who will highlight the trends and experiences from their specific surroundings. The ambition of this year’s Week is to encourage theoretical thinking and open public debates in service of a fertile practice within real activities: planning, designing and realization. It is expected that such exchange of knowledge and ideas will generate new visions for the REanimation of the already existing architectural environment and of future projects open for a dialogue with the already existing domain. As before, Architecture Week ’09 is open both to professionals and the broad public to whom it will present and approach, apart from this year’s specific theme RE..., the recent accomplishments in the field of architecture and urban planning from the domestic and international scene. Like in previous years, the program of the Week includes exhibitions, lectures, guded walking tours, workshops, films, seminars and roundtables. With a belief that this Architecture Week will gather people of good will and open attitudes, experts and connoisseurs, as well as citizens, enthusiasts eager to expand their knowledge and ideas, the organizers cordially invite us all to joint them.
For more details: www.nedeljaarhitekture.org

At real estate and investment expo "Real Vienna 2009", which was held in Vienna between May 26 and 28, over 240 exhibitors from 24 countries presented themselves at 16,000 square meters of exhibition space. In addition to world-renowned investment funds, banks, building companies and specialized business magazines, cities, countries and regions were also presented at the expo. General estimates are that, although the presented projects were excellent, investors still wait for the right moment to get in action.
Company "Verano Group" had independent and very noticed appearance. "Verano Group" owns over 500,000 square meters of space under construction and more than 600,000 square meters of space for further development of first-class office space in Belgrade and Serbia, intended for sale or lease. The projects that this company presented in Austrian capital city are: exclusive office space "B23 Office Park" – the first building of AAA class in the region, "Department Stores Beograd" – the largest chain of department stores in the country, "Zira Center", "Trošarina Shopping Mall", and "Brdo Shopping City" – the first retail park in Belgrade.
Investments in Serbia were also the theme of the panel discussion that was held on the first day of the expo. One of the speakers at that panel was Krsta Sandić, the Vice President of "Verano Group". When asked what he would recommend to investors as far as investments in Serbia are concerned, Mr. Sandić said that it would definitely be commercial office space.
At the cocktail party that was organized at the booth of "Verano Group", which was attended by Dragan Velikić, the Ambassador of Serbia to Austria, and his associates, investors, businessmen from Serbia and around the world, the representatives of SIEPA, which also had independent appearance in the exhibition, and the representatives of media companies from Serbia and the region, general opinion was that the exhibition was an excellent opportunity for establishment of contacts between the companies that present their projects and those that advise on best investment opportunities, the result of which should be concrete business arrangements.
By the way, “Real Vienna" is famous for top-design expensive booths and equipment. The Management of "Real Vienna" gave the highest mark to the presentation of company "Verano Group".
- This year’s participants showed their creativity and presented fantastic projects. The booth of Serbian "Verano Group" took us to some other dimension and made us believe that we are at the sea and that there is a glass ship near us. This impressive structure successfully united the symbols of expectations for the future and merged this dimension with the realistic position, which is the most important for successful realization of business – said Vera Gastberger, one of the managers of "Real Vienna".

At today’s press conference, the organizers of REBEC announced the forthcoming event to the public. Having presented a short analysis of results from the last year’s premiere, which was held between June 23 and 25, the Director of REBEC event, Aleksandar Opsenica, announced this year’s events.
In the modern premises of Centre “Sava“, between June 22 and 24, after the fashion of similar traditional specialized manifestations in Europe and the world, REBEC will this year offer two-day conference (June 23 and 24) and accompanying three-day exhibition (June 22, 23 and 24) to the public. Having in mind the needs for comprehensive consideration and presentation of the current state of real estate development in Serbia, as well as in the region in certain segments, according to the last year’s concept, which proved to be very successful, the conference will comprise 7 panel discussions (four on the first day and 3 on the second day). In addition to expected themes related to city planning, greenfield and brownfield investments, the state of capital market related to real estate development support, analysis of situation and prospects of modern office space development, hidden potentials in application of PPP model in Serbia, as well as legal prospects, special panel discussions about hotel industry development in Serbia and the region and the panel discussion about broader scope of operations related to supply of project management services to the investors in Serbia will be offered to the public for the first time this year. The organizers especially pointed to confirmed participation of Carlton Ervin, Vice President, Marriott International Inc, Saša Golubović from Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality, EMEA, Chris Davidson from Merrill Lynch International from London, Denis Petković, Partner in Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP from London, as well as Bryan Beaton from Belgrade-based Office of King Sturge Ltd. When it comes to local speakers, participation has, so far, been confirmed by Marko Mićanović, Partner in Altis Capital Ltd., Nenad Stanković from legal office Joksović, Stojanović and Partners, Vladimir Djelić from legal office Božović, Djelić & Ivković, and Jovan Jovanović, Country Manager, Danos Ltd.
One of the improvements in regard to the previous events will be the expanded programme of events within the exhibition part of REBEC. There will be three specialized discussions whose themes are: state and prospects of facility management development, residential development, and retail space development. On the final day of all REBEC events, the retrospective of investment projects and investment ideas that drew the greatest interest of users of web portal eKapija in 2008 will be presented to the guests and participants. This event will put an end to the programme at this year’s REBEC, and the announcement of REBEC 2010 will follow.

Austrian company “Eyemaxx“, backed by fund “Chayton Capital“, held the presentation of one of the largest projects in the region in the Chamber of Commerce of Niš, and promoted an excellent vision that includes investments in development of the airport complex and the city of Niš itself. The commencement of realization of the largest logistic and commercial cargo center, in the location next to airport “Konstantin Veliki” in Niš, has been scheduled for June 2009.

The cargo center complex covers the area of about 260,000 square meters, and construction of about 136,000 square meters of the facilities that meet the highest standards is in the pipeline. In addition to distributive facilities, the project anticipates development of business facilities, shopping centre, hotel, as well as other contents that will be in accordance with European standards for the projects of that type. The offices of “Colliers International” in Belgrade and Niš are the leading lease agents for the space in the future project. The possibility of distribution of goods by air, road and rail will create excellent opportunities for local and regional development. In favor of that is also the fact that the construction of such complex, facilities, infrastructure and junctions will require engagement of large number of local companies, which means that a lot of people will get reliable jobs. According to the estimates, this investment worth 62m EUR will enable employment of about 500 people.

“Delta City“ has been declared as the best shopping mall in Europe in the category of new shopping malls of medium size. The most significant award in field of commercial properties was granted to “Delta City“ by the jury of the International Council of Shopping Centers – ICSC. Slađana Lazić, the Marketing Director of company “Delta Real Estate“ received this award in Barcelona. “Delta City“ occupies the surface of 85,000 square meters, and it was opened at the end of year 2007. The investment was worth 74m EUR, and it created jobs for 1,500 people.

Five new departments will be formed within the City Planning Secretariat of Belgrade, and one of the most significant will be the sector for facilities at more than 20,000 square meters and the investments of public importance of over 20m RSD. The Secretariat will also comprise an information department for VIP investors, which will receive special treatment when it comes to issuing of building permits. The transformation is a response to frequent complaints of the investors who claim that that city organ is not efficient enough and that the building permits are granted selectively, which obstructs significant investments in Belgrade.

Israeli group "Big CEE" (Big Central European Estates Group) will have 70m EUR worth of trade center built in Novi Sad prior to the beginning of year 2010. The shopping center of 30,000 square meters will be constructed in the lot at 90,000 square meters along Sentandrejski road. About 1,000 people from Novi Sad will be engaged in the works on construction of that facility, which should commence prior to the end of year 2009. The completion of the works is expected in 2010.

Spacious house that is organized to your taste, modernly furnished, with wine cellar, large yard and swimming pool, surrounded by greenery and insulated from noise, and only about 30 minutes of driving away from the center of Belgrade or Novi Sad. That is how the new concept of residence, presented by English Investment Fund “Ultimate Holdings” and consulting company “Wolf&McGill” to the market in Serbia, looks like. The first few out of about 200 houses in the current portfolio will be offered to the potential buyers at the end of March.

The prices of houses range between 18,000 and 79,000 EUR. One can buy the house at 120 square meters, with complete infrastructure and paved approach lane, for as low as 30,000 EUR. One of the best houses in the offer is the one at 160 square meters in Dobrinci, which is situated in the building lot of 3.3 acres and has no accompanying premises, barn and wine cellar. That facility, with swimming pool, costs 51,000 EUR. The representatives of "Ultimate holdings" said that they believed that the current infrastructural problems in Serbia, primarily traffic network, would soon be resolved, and that "Ultimate living" concept – the living outside the city – would become dominant in the real estate market. English "Ultimate Asset", a part of “Ultimate Holdings", which is present in Serbia for about 3.5 years, runs investment fund "Argent", while "Wolf&McGill" is the investment adviser of "Ultimate Asset" in the markets of Serbia and Montenegro.

New trade centre "Ivanium" has been opened in 18 Balkanska Street in Belgrade. It encompasses 105 outlets that offer clothing for kids and adults, jewelry, haberdashery, as well as pharmacy and exchange office. Boutiques with branded clothing by famous creators for men and women, kid’s clothing and gear, jewelry, “gift shop” and leather goods can be found in this trade center. There is also an Indian shop for lovers of oriental culture. The facility will include a conference hall with 50 seats, which will be equipped with the state-of-the-arts technology. Luxury four-star hotel and bar restaurant "Privilegija" is situated next to the trade centre. Wellness spa centre “Prestige” with Turkish bath, sauna and massage room will be settled on the lowest floor of the trade centre.

The Board members of the City Assembly of Novi Sad have adopted a significant decision that will enable quicker development of the city, while the citizens will get cleaner and healthier environment. Namely, construction of a modern trade center in former industrial zone, only 2 km away from the centre of Novi Sad, has been made possible by the change in the Detailed Land-utilization Plan. The new trade centre at 39,000 square meters will be the first and the largest shopping mall in the province. The investor is international company "Ocean Atlantic International", which will invest 80m EUR and create about 1,500 new jobs in Serbia, and it will also bring the experience from the world’s most developed markets to our country. According to the investor’s expectations, construction of the trade centre should start before the end of year 2009.

The seventh building, out of total of 14 that should be built within business complex “Airport City“ in New Belgrade prior to year 2014, has been officially opened. Construction of this building took only 10 months. The facility has 10 floors and it is 45 meters high. The new clients will be offered total of 13,200 square meters of office space in this building. There are 200 parking places around this business facility.
This business complex is being built in the location of deserted old airport, and about 72,000 out of projected 186,000 square meters of office space have been finished to the date. Construction of the announced technical building, four residential facilities and two towers that will be situated alongside Omladinskih Brigada Boulevard is still in the pipeline. One of these two towers will be a hotel, while the other will be a business building.

This year MIPIM celebrates its 20th anniversary of existence. Having in mind the current financial situation in the world, this jubilee has special meaning. As the organizers of this trade fair (Reed Midem) announced, the arrival of about 20,000 delegates of investors, developers, hotel operators and end-users of real estates is expected. There will also be over 600 journalists from all over the world.
Of all former countries of SFRY, Serbia will have the largest number of delegates at this year’s event. From their base at the booth of Beoland, over 60 delegates from Serbia will send a quality message to the world about the current state of the real estate development in Serbia and their future expectations. The projects on the Danube within Port “Beograd“ and the development projects of Rudnap Group and MPC Properties will be presented on that occasion. Mayor Đilas has also confirmed his participation in the meeting of mayors that will gather 80 of them from all around the world.
It can be freely said that the exceptional quality of the central and accompanying programmes at this year’s MIPIM will compensate for smaller number of visitors. The most acknowledged professionals are invited to present current situation in the world in a worthwhile manner at the conference, while the announced arrival of world-renowned architects, such as Zahe Hadid, Thom Mayne and Professor Wolf Prix, should additionally enrich this year’s event.
The next MIPIM will take place between March 16 and 19, 2010!

Danos & Associates represents one of the leading real estate companies at global level, and it offers wide assortment of services, including investment consulting and representation services, through its offices in Athens, Salonika, Nycosia and Limasol. As an international respectable real estate consulting company, Danos Group has developed huge database of service users during 40 years of work, including public sector, financial institutions, market chains, corporate clients, private investors and other users of services. By providing professional services to their clients, the company has strengthened its reputation as a competitive and reliable professional, both locally and internationally.

Having in mind everything mentioned above, it is clear how significant is that Danos, in association with BNP Paribas Group, opened its offices in Serbia (Belgrade), Bulgaria (Sofia) and Albania (Tirana) in March 2009.