Futureal Bids for Massive Gov't District

BUDAPEST-Futureal’s non-residential arm Futureal Kft has submitted a bid to create a new Hungarian government office district in Budapest. Chairman of the board Peter Futo says in a statement that Futureal’s existing office and residential project in Corvin “is an ideal location for the planned 150,000-sm government district. We would build about 150,000 sm to 200,000 sm of office space anyway, with or without the government order.”

Futureal is the lead developer of a HUF 143-billion ($461-million) development project totaling 500,000 sm in Downtown Budapest. The project is called Corvin and is due for completion in 2012.

Futo also points out the that the Corvin development is close to the metro line and the city center, as well as fast transport to the international airport. Existing proposals include sports and recreational facilities, a shopping area and up to 7,000 parking spaces.

New measures intended to tighten fiscal policy and spend less on government infrastructure prompted the Hungarian government to announce earlier this year that it planned to establish the new government district in Budapest. Plans involve selling some of the 19th-century buildings currently used as government offices and renting modern space.

Officials and advisers must narrow down the current field of 27 candidates and present a shortlist of bids to the government. The winner will be chosen within two weeks from then.