SBA Urban expands Urban Hub model to Vilnius: acquires 4.3 ha plot
SBA Urban, the real estate developer of the SBA Group, has acquired a 4.3 ha plot of land alongside Ukmergės Highway near Vilnius, where it plans to develop a new concept e-commerce campus. The first such synergised Urban Hub complex will soon start to be built in the Kaunas district, close to the country’s busiest highway Vilnius-Klaipėda. The complex in Vilnius is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.
“As the world’s electronic channels fundamentally change traditional business models, the commercial real estate market is also undergoing a turning point. When we launched the hub project near Kaunas, we immediately felt a huge hunger among businesses for new and mixed-use spaces that would accommodate e-commerce, logistics, and customer service. So we are not hesitating to take on a similar project in the capital, where we expect to invest around €30 million. Upon establishing Urban Hubs in major cities, close to the country’s busiest transport arteries in Lithuania, we foresee further expansion abroad,” says Giedrius Muliuolis, CEO of SBA Urban.
He says that the projects will provide an opportunity to offer multi-directional synergies, both by launching the ecosystem of different businesses within the complex and by strengthening the interaction between cities in different territories. The project in Vilnius, as in Kaunas, will be based on innovative technologies, architectural precision and a sustainable approach to the environment.
“The hub in Vilnius will have a total area of around 22,000 sqm and will respond to the changing needs of retail businesses. It will be able to host office space, distribution centres, retail outlets or showrooms all in one place. Urban Hub Vilnius will be located adjacent to the high traffic Vilnius-Panevėžys highway, which is used by almost 50,000 cars a day and within a 5 km radius of 165,000 of the city’s inhabitants, i.e. 20% of the population of the Vilnius region,” says Agnė Klevienė, head of commerce of SBA Urban.
According to her, the flexible space planning conditions will allow businesses to find the premises that best suit their individual needs. Urban Hub Vilnius will also cater to the needs of a new generation of consumers – e-commerce-savvy buyers will be able to pick up their goods here, while those who want to inspect the goods before purchase will be able to use the showrooms. Businesses will be able to choose from 150 sqm to 2,000-6,000 sqm of space.
SBA Urban representatives also presented the project concept and planned investments to the Vilnius District Municipality, on whose territory it will be developed, and received a favourable response.
In the Kaunas region, SBA Urban will implement its first stock-office campus with a unique concept, Urban Hub Kaunas. It will have a total area of 67,000 sqm. The project is planned to be developed in 3 phases of 22-24,000 sqm each, with a total investment of around €92 million. Construction is scheduled to start in the last quarter of this year, and the first phase is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2023.
