Europe’s tallest tower going up in Moscow
Europe’s tallest office tower is going up in Moscow. The 93-story, 4.5-million-square-foot Federation Tower is being constructed on a 250-acre stretch along the Moscow River, BusinessWeek reported.
The tower is one of many large real estate projects in the country. More than $1.5 billion in foreign investment is expected to be poured into Russian real estate projects this year, nearly double last year’s level.
Also under construction in Moscow is the European Trade Center, a retail shopping complex with 160 stores, a movie theater and a swimming pool. Luxury residential building Triumph Palace, also in Moscow, is already marketing units in the 54-story tower.
Developers making far-flung locales luxury hotspots
Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, is becoming a hotspot for luxury home development. The archipelago’s volcanic islands may be isolated and prone to drought, but a group of Irish investors is building more than 12,000 higher-end apartments and villas on two Cape Verde islands.
Cape Verde Development, based in Cork, Ireland, is spending $38 million on its project there. The company is banking on the fact that investors are searching for uncovered territory as price appreciation slows in more popular hotspots.
Other big developments in remote locations are being built in Borneo, Montenegro and Mauritius, the International Herald Tribune reported.
High-rise living grows in London
Londoners have traditionally been averse to high-floor Manhattan-style living, but that may be changing. In the mostly low-rise city, a string of apartment towers is under construction around Canary Wharf, including the 50-story Pan Peninsula building that will be one of Britain’s tallest residential towers when it is completed in 2009, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the same architects that created the Sears Tower in Chicago, the two-building project will have 700 luxury apartments, with prices for 380-square-foot studios starting at $460,000.
Several other tall developments in the area include the 29-story Ontario Tower, a 206-unit building with concierge service and spa, due to be completed in 2007, as well as the Discovery Dock and Number One West India Quay projects.
Prices in the Canary Wharf area have been experiencing the strongest growth in London in the last decade. Canary Wharf is also home to Britain’s tallest office tower, the 50-story One Canada Square.
Despite terrorism, northern Israel in commercial demand
Despite missiles and warfare in northern Israel, investment activity in the commercial market continues. Recently, real estate investment trust Israel Group bought a 120,000-square-foot shopping center in Nahariya near Lebanon.
The REIT paid $20 million, or around $166 a square foot, for the property, which sits near the site of recent attacks by Hezbollah, the International Herald Tribune reported. The mall was closed during the fighting, but investors say the commercial and office space is a good deal. Industry experts say warfare in Israel has kept foreign investors at bay, but the market still remains hot. Political tensions and warfare are considered part of the expected landscape for investors, say analysts.
Compared to Western countries, real estate prices in Israel are low. Commercial asking rents are around $14 per square meter (around $1.40 per square foot) in the Tel Aviv area, which has a 5 percent vacancy rate.