Emonika commercial hub to come to life in 2027

The Emonika centre will not just be a commercial hub but "a small city within a city," said Mendota Invest director Dora Kenez at the presentation of the project of Thursday.

Mendota Invest is part of the OTP group, whose real estate funds manage more than 550,000 m2 of commercial property in Slovenia worth more than EUR 1.5 billion, said Kenez.

Taking this into account, Emonika is still an enormous investment and a big challenge, said Kenez. She believes the commercial hub will have great added value for the city and its residents.

Construction of Emonika began in spring after some 20 years of complications, said Mendota director Pal Forgacs. The project activities as part of the upgrade of the Ljubljana train station have to be coordinated with the state, Slovenian Railways and the Ljubljana municipality, he added.

The Emonika centre will span 180,000 m2, including two hotels with more than 380 rooms, three apartment buildings with 187 apartments, a modern shopping centre and 35,000 m2 of office space, said Forgacs, adding that this is the largest private real estate project in the country.

The 100-metre sky-scraper on the south side of the complex will stand out the most, said Forgacs, adding that the building will have 23 floors above- and 4 floors underground. "This will be the new symbol of the development and growth of Ljubljana," the director said.

After a construction permit was obtained, work started immediately at two construction sites. Currently work is underway to excavate and protect the construction pit.

According to Mendota technical director Miha Gostiša, the work is even ahead of plan. They are currently working 10-12 metres below surface and expect to reach the lowest level in the next few months even though the progress has slowed due to geological composition. They plan to start laying the groundwork in January on the north side and some months later on the south side.

They already published an international call for tenders for the main construction work. According to Gostiša, negotiations are ongoing. They are optimistic that the first contracts for the north part of the hub will be reached in January and for the southern part sometime in spring.

Mendota did not disclose the value of the construction work today but said in spring that it would surpass EUR 350 million.

The complex will have the BREEAM certificate for sustainable construction and will use different sustainable solutions to save energy, such as using a heat pump for cooling and storing cold and heat to be used when energy costs are at peak, said Gostiša.

There is great interest for the apartments in Emonika, said Mendota development director Patrick Davidson. They received more than 950 inquiries and held more than 350 meetings, he said, adding that the prices would be known by the end of the year. The apartments in Emonika will be premium, meaning one stage below luxury level, Davidson said.

Negotiations are ongoing for office spaces with several international companies and large and small Slovenian firms, said Davidson. The OTP bank will also have its seat in the Emonika business premises but they have not decided what they will do with the bank's existing premises, Davidson said.

For both hotels talks with operators are ongoing, said Davidson, adding that they are in the final stage of talks with an established hotel chain for the hotel on the northern side of the complex, which would become a 4-star hotel. The name of the operator could be revealed by the end of the year, while for the other hotel it could be revealed in half a year, Davidson said.

The shopping centre is planned to house 82 shops and a large restaurant section, said Davidson.

Responding to criticisms that Emonika will not have room for public services, Davidson said that they are not excluding anyone but are following the needs of the market and seeking diversity.