BRITISH investor and developer Letterstone is investing Sk2 billion in Central Park, a new residential zone in Košice that will contain almost 400 flats, a hotel and shops, the company's representatives informed the Hospodárske Noviny financial daily.
The flats will be mainly one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as luxury spaces with large terraces. The zone will also offer exclusive offices, relaxation centres and underground parking for more than 500 cars. The neighbouring hotel will have more than 100 double rooms and its own restaurant. An 18-storey residential building will tower over the entire complex.
"It is one of the most ambitious projects in Košice," Letterstone Slovakia CEO Ivan Zatloukal said. "It will set a high standard for further construction in the entire east."
According to Edward Stevenson, the company's investment manager, the Košice region will experience large growth as the demand for housing and services rises.
Letterstone plans to begin construction in June. The zone is expected to open in three years. The project manager for the Central Park project is the Slovak company Rabit Engineering and the design is supplied by English studio Benoy, which is also involved in the Twin City project in Bratislava.
Letterstone has other projects in Slovakia under way, which are worth more than Sk3.5 billion. In Banská Bystrica, it is building 180 residential flats and in Tatranská Lomnica, in the High Tatras, it is constructing the Silver Resort, which should hold seven apartment houses, 12 villas and a four-star hotel. It plans to begin work in Tatranská Lomnica and Banská Bystrica later this year.
Letterstone has transformed from a real estate agency into one of England's largest developers. It also operates in Hungary and Romania and has built a set of villas and apartments on an island in the Caribbean.
