April the 6th, 2021 - The very first Marko Rubelj Croatian project is located close to the very heart of the City of Zagreb. The building will be one of the most luxurious and resistant buildings in the entire country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, prestigious property in unique locations in the market context has never been endangered, and a new example in which this is confirmed once again is the luxury new building in Zagreb, the very first Marko Rubelj Croatian project. In addition to being the fruit of the labour of this entrepreneur, it is also a family project of the Luxe residence investor.

Back at the beginning of the building's construction, some of the apartments was snapped up, and obviously many famous names, successful people from the business world and some famous athletes will end up staying at that new Zagreb address.

Above European regulations

As an electrical engineer from Zagreb's FER, entreprener Marko Rubelj has been in the real estate business by vocation for twenty years now over in the United States, where he also received his master's degree from the University of Florida.

He is the author of a book about the investment side of this business, which was otherwise a 2016 bestseller on Amazon. Today, Rubelj employs 40 people in California, but now he is active with his first Croatian project, transferring the (very different) American mindset here to Croatia, which seems to be reflected in every detail of the luxury new building - Building M, which is coming more and more to life in Kukuljeviceva street.

The glass walls of the first Marko Rubelj Croatian project that connect the interior with the park open up, which raises Croatian standards, the staircase is very large, done in American dimensions, and the same goes for the building's lifts as well.

Axor pipes are planned, made by the renowned French industrial architect and designer Philippe Starck, who, for example, designed the super yacht Venus, co-founded by Apple Steve Jobs, whose value stands at a whopping 105 million euros.

In addition to this top Zagreb location and sense of luxury, the building is also characterised by its top security. At the request of the Marko Rubelj Croatian project's investors, it is designed to withstand a 20 percent higher seismic load than what is prescribed by applicable European seismic standards for residential buildings in the area of ​​its construction.

This has been ''signed'' by the famous statician Berislav Medic, who has stated that this building has seismic resistance, which is provided by regulations for buildings of great importance (such as schools, halls for large gatherings, etc.), which significantly exceeds the earthquake standard of the vast majority of modern residential buildings.

"This is currently the most seismically residential building in the entire country," Marko Rubelj said. Construction began back in October 2020 and will be completed in October 2022, but two floors with five apartments out of a total of 22 the building will boast will remain within the family ownership of the investor.

The Zagreb-based company Prosperitas is the contractor, and the consulting company taking care of the supervision is Stimar d.o.o. which has seen hundreds of thousands of square metres of business and residential buildings throughout Croatia come to realisation.

The value of the investment is around 12 million euros, but although the building isn't yet visible because earthworks are underway, more than 30 percent of the apartments have been sold so far. Regarding cooperation with real estate agencies across Croatia, Lux residences have chosen several of them.

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The idea of this complex in Savica, Zagreb, first met the public eye and caused somewhat of a proverbial storm back in 2013, and has been bubbling under the surface without much attention ever since.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of February, 2020, if you're coming off the Bridge of Youth (Most mladosti) the complex in Savica will be the first thing you'll notice. The four towers, the tallest as high as 135 metres, will rise up from the ground at the entrance to Savica, Zagreb, according to a report from Vecernji list.

More specifically, the fourth tower will be located between the Chromos sports field and the intersection with Drziceva, and a plot of about 13,000 square metres will accommodate skyscrapers boasting 30 to 37 floors - two will be residential buildings which will be 95 and 74 metres tall, the 120 metre-high tower will house a hotel, while the other will be home to a business centre.

As stated, the idea of this complex first came to light back in 2013 when a conceptual design was selected in a public tender financed by an investor, the Savica company, and the project belongs to Austrian M.O.F. Immobilien AG, whose programme was developed by IGH. The work of a team led by architect Dario Travas was selected from among fifteen works, and since then a public debate has taken place.

The calm which followed and indeed lasted for the next six years, was interrupted by a publication at the beginning of 2020 in the Official Gazette of the City of Zagreb, from which it is evident that the procedure for obtaining a location and building permit had been initiated.

Vecernji list asked M.O.F. Immobilien AG about the project and at what stage it is currently at, and despite several attempts, they failed to get an answer. However, Martin Kutscher and Martin Vabitsch, who were the directors of the Savica-project company back in 2014, explained the value of the project "for Trnje, Zagreb and the whole of Croatia" in a letter sent to the then-Assembly Speaker Darinka Kosor.

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As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 24th of November, 2019, the year is 2024. Zagreb's roundabout has long since been dealt with, and Zagreb's businessmen are laughing as they head off to work on ''that side'' of the Sava river. It's a good thing that the "old roundabout" is now a thing of the past, especially for the two thousand people who found employment in Zagreb's brand new city landmark - the 150 metre tall Jarun Panorama business tower from which one of the most beautiful views of Novi Zagreb is offered. Ambitious runners also spend their mornings on the banks of the popular Jarun lake.

This gorgeous 38-story illuminated building is an impressive sight indeed, it houses the offices of some of the most renowned Croatian and international companies, and it's also the tallest building in all of Croatia, which, due to its imposing character, has quickly become one of Zagreb's most famous architectural spots. The tower is not lonely here, however, and within its ''company'', there are six more separate buildings, among which a green park belt is arranged. Zagreb's brand new residential and business centre is called Jarun Panorama and as has been announced by investors, upon completion of construction, three thousand citizens should gravitate towards it daily.

Five years from now might seem like it's in the distant future, but given the fact that the investor spent almost twelve years engulfed in the “construction” of this project, it could be said that the actual construction of Jarun Panorama is almost within our sights. That is, of course, as long as good old Croatian red tape doesn't throw a spanner in the works before that.

The investor is Rotor South Ltd. d.o.o., which is 100 percent owned by the Oslo-based Norwegian Croatian development property II AS, managed by Robert Hagen. In Croatia, they are represented by consultants from Colliers International, which, after years, finally plans to present Jarun Panorama to the public next week, more specifically on Tuesday at REXPO.

There, visitors will be able to get better acquainted with the details of the project, which extends to just under 35,000 square metres in total, and in addition to the business tower, includes residential and hotel facilities, which is set to make Jarun Panorama the largest residential and business centre in Zagreb.

According to the ideas of the Norwegian investors, about 340 apartments with an average size of over 100 square metres would be built in the area near the roundabout, and Novi Zagreb would also get new hotel content along with this project, as Jarun Panorama also envisages one hotel under the management of a well-known international brand. The category will be a minimum of four stars, it will boast 240 rooms, a conference room and additional amenities such as a restaurant, wellness facilities and the like.

If realised, Jarun Panorama will be located right in the space currently encircled by new thoroughfares built to reconstruct the Zagreb roundabout. It will be located near the Arena shopping mall and the sports hall, and investors hope that the good traffic situation can contribute to the attractiveness of the building - which will be close to major city roads leading to Zagreb's exit, but also towards the city centre itself.

According to Vedrana Likan, director of Colliers International, which represents the Norwegians responsible for this project in Croatia, it is currently the most advanced mixed-use project in all of Croatia, for which two location permits have already been issued, and for which the Hagen-led fund has spent more their time and cash on arranging things and bringing the massive project to this stage of realisation for more than a decade now.

''For over twelve years, it was necessary to resolve the property-legal relations and to buy all the land on which Jarun Panorama would be built. According to our estimates, construction could start within a maximum of 18 months, and the completion date will depend on the pace of construction,'' she says.

The reason why the Jarun Panorama megaproject will be presented at REXPO next week is because the Norwegians have decided they need to find a construction partner, and it is entirely possible that they will acheive that goal, given that so far there is considerable investor interest.

"The search for investors began in October this year, and for the time being, there are interested investors from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. We're also targeting investors from the US and the UAE, and so far, we've continued negotiations with five of them,'' Likan said.

''The project is fully ready for the market and for further development, it's clear of any potential problems. Location permits have been issued and allow for a high level of construction and we're extremely curious about how the story will evolve,'' Hagen stated.

When he mentions that the project has been cleared of potential problems, Hagen is probably alluding to the numerous twists and turns that have surrounded Jarun Panorama since the very first announcement that the Norwegians would build something near the roundabout, which mainly concerned land ownership.

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