1. Uzbekistan: Investors Hesitant About Central Asian Hotels
Several Central Asia countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have rolled out ambitious tourism industry development programs, hoping the region can gain a foothold on the global travel map.
But the future of the region’s hospitality industry investment remains vague due to a mix of political, infrastructural and environmental challenges. Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, saw significant increases in hotel demand over the past two years, said Alexey Vishnevsky, front office manager of the Dostyk Hotel in the country’s capital Astana.
2. Ireland: US Plans New Embassy in Dublin
The U.S. government is reported to be finalizing a deal to invest €700 million (£549 million) in developing a new embassy on land in Dublin.
Long-running talks are nearing completion for the U.S. government to buy land in Ballsbridge, in southeastern Dublin, from property developer Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land, according to the Associated Press. The Biden administration has notified Congress that it intends to spend nearly $171 million (£134 million) on buying the former Jury’s Inn Dublin hotel, and will ultimately invest €700 million demolishing it and building a new embassy compound to house Marine guards and other support facilities.
3. France: Big Transactions Rise on Prominent Paris Avenue
The Champs-Élysées avenue has become a popular location for big property sales as companies including luxury product makers vie for prime real estate in Paris.
LVMH recently paid €1 billion for 150 Champs-Élysées, topping the property’s prior sale for €650 million in summer 2022. This colossal transaction joined others on the prominent street this year, including Finamas Group’s €90 million purchase of 62 Champs-Élysées, with tenants including luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co.
4. Germany: Developer Garbe Buys Land for Large Logistics Center
German developer Garbe acquired a 420,000-square-meter land site northwest of Berlin, where it plans to build a logistics center spanning around 270,000 square meters.
Garbe has invested €290 million toward what will be its “largest project development in the company's history,” according to a statement. Construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2027 and conclude in 2030 near the A24 highway in the city of Fehrbellin.
5. Canada: TPG Acquires Majority Stake in Toronto Industrial Parks
Texas-based TPG, among the world’s largest alternative asset management firms, acquired a 75% interest in a pair of Toronto-area industrial parks through a deal that values the portfolio at $1.3 billion Canadian or $970.5 million in U.S. dollars.
TPG officials said the deal is among the largest private industrial property transactions in Canada’s history and the company’s first joint venture with Toronto-based Oxford Properties Group. Oxford plans to keep a 25% interest in the assets and will continue to manage the 11-building, 5.1-million-square-foot portfolio leased to tenants including Mondelēz, Best Buy, Campbell’s and Olympia Tile.
6. US: Luxury Brand Baccarat Relocates New York Office
French luxury crystal brand Baccarat is expanding its New York office footprint by relocating to a renovated boutique office building a few blocks south of its current home.
Paris-based Baccarat will relocate its Manhattan office to a 10,000-square-foot penthouse and mezzanine space, including a private terrace, on the 18th floor of 545 Madison Ave. near 55th Street, landlord Marx Realty said in a statement. Baccarat is moving from its space just four blocks north at 635 Madison Ave., where it occupies 5,809 square feet, a Marx Realty spokesperson told CoStar News. The brand’s retail location will remain in its current building just north of 59th Street.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.