RIGA – Latvia's first modern business center opened its doors July 1 at the corner of Valdemara and Elizabetes streets.
The seven-story building topped with a small tower provides 8,300 square meters of office and retail space, and has an underground parking lot for 70 cars.
The Swedish company Skanska together with the Riga City Council started construction of the Valdemara Center in December 1997.
The project cost $19.5 million, of which $11.4 million were financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation.
So far Skanska has leased 50 percent of the total rental space, offering its tenants a choice in the design of their offices.
"Each tenant can customize his own office according to his wishes. This gives flexibility and is an advantage compared to old renovated buildings," said Stig-Olof Oster, business development manager at Skanska Konstrukcija.
He predicted that about 700 people will be working in the center.
The first Valdemara Center's tenant is Regus, the international company that designs offices and then rents them out. Regus has 350 branches all over the world.
"They've chosen Riga as their starting point in the Baltics. They believe in the future of Latvia," Oster said.
The rent varies from $30 to $40 per square meter for retail and $26 to $30 for offices, depending on the floor and the view. A beautiful view on the Orthodox Cathedral and the Museum and Academy of Art opens up from the center's tower and corner windows.
