The development company Urbanity will add two more buildings to the three alreadycompleted production halls in the industrial campus in Tachov. The second stage will extend the leasable area of the complex by a further 31,700 square meters, which will be available in the second half of this year. So far 41,800 m2 has been finished and leased, which means 39 % of the final volume. The Tachov campus will ultimately include 106,300 m2 in six halls on a total of 20 hectares. The developer plans to start the construction of Urbanity Campus Bruntál later this year. 

Urbanity Development, which is part of the Urbanity group, is the general contractor of the second stage of the construction of an industrial campus near the German border.

Stage 2 – the Delta and Eta buildings
In February 2024, the group started the second phase of construction in Tachov. Overall, it is an area of 31,700 m2, with the Delta building having an area of 13,500 m2 and the Eta building adding the remaining 18,200 m2. The units for leasing start at 5,000 m2. Earthworks have already been completed and negotiations are currently underway with several interested production companies for both buildings, which started to be built simultaneously and so far on a speculative basis without a specific client. Photovoltaic panels on the roofs and charging stations for electric vehicles are part of the equipment for both buildings. According to the developer, the tenants from the ranks of production companies will decide themselves on the use of heat pumps, as was the case in the previous stage.

At the end of 2023, three buildings with a total area of 41,800 m2 were completed in the Tachov campus. These are the Alfa building (15,800 m2), Beta building (10,500 m2) and Gama building (15,500 m2), which are intended mainly for production and are currently fully occupied. Tenants include the local Alfa Plastik and the company Formy Tachov. There are also international companies operating here, such as Eurostyle Systems.

“All the emerging and planned Urbanity campuses differ to a large extent from traditional industrial parks,” stated Markéta Šimáčková, the Business Director of Urbanity. “We build production halls tailored for specific clients, to whom we want to provide custom-made premises in the highest standards. People spend the greatest part of the day at work, so it is also important to prepare an environment for them where they will feel good,” she explained. There is already a company physician, relaxation zones, a public transport stop in front of the entrance, charging stations for electric cars and also a children’s group in the complex. Hotel-style accommodation services, a cafeteria, dispensing boxes and townhouses with a preschool for 44 children are being prepared.

“We also pay close attention to sustainability, which is a priority for us,” added Šimáčková. The buildings are equipped with energy-saving technologies and systems: all the halls include a central solution for the measurement and regulation system, smart LED lighting, solar panels, which are located on the rooftops of the buildings and connected to a battery storage, sprinklers and fire sensors. “The Alfa building uses heat pumps and in the Beta building, the client uses its own waste heat from production,” Urbanity’s Manager said. Throughout the complex, there are also seepage furrows and a central detention basin, which contribute to keeping the water in the landscape.

The battery storage, which was completed in November 2023, has a total capacity of 1.4 MWh and is connected to a rooftop solar power plant with a power output of 5 MWp. According to Šimáčková, the energy produced will cover up to 40 % of the annual consumption of the industrial complex, and Urbanity plans to signifi cantly expand the storage capacity in the coming years. The rooftop power plant, which currently covers an area of 41,800 m2, will grow to 90,000 m2 in the future.

The Beta and Gama buildings, which have undergone a major revitalisation in the past in cooperation with the architects of studio Komplits, won in last year’s Best of Realty competition, where they took first place in the category of industrial and logistics complexes. “We achieved this victory thanks to the grand reconstruction, which was also carried out under the full operation of the tenants,” Šimáčková explained. The acquisition of the BREEAM Communities certification is also a confirmation of the quality of the campus. It monitors a number of criteria for projects with an emphasis on social, economic and environmental areas. The Tachov campus obtained the highest rating in the area of “social wellbeing”.

Upon completion of the campus, the Delta, Eta, Sigma, Omega 1 and Omega 2 buildings will stand alongside the already-completed Alfa, Beta and Gama halls, along with a multifunctional building and townhouses with a preschool. In the case of Alfa, Beta and the multifunctional building, these are reconstructions of existing buildings, the others are and will be new buildings.

There will be a total of 90,000 m2 of production space available in 6 buildings with an area of 106,300 m2, along with 6,500 m2 of multifunctional space and 9,800 m2 of offices. A data centre is planned for the Omega 1 building, while there will be 5,300 m2 of office space available to lease in the Omega 2 building upon its completion. Both buildings are expected to be completed in 2025–2026.

The multifunctional building will have 96 rooms and will also offer dining opportunities. “The operator of the hotel-style accommodation is being chosen, along with the associated services that will be located in the building,” said Šimáčková. The construction of a car park building for 180 cars is also under preparation. It already has its building permit and should be completed as part of the last phase of the campus.

On the border with Germany
Tachov benefits from the immediate vicinity of the German border. It is about 60 km from Plzeň and the connection to the D5 motorway connects it with Prague. The industrial tradition of the region is also an advantage. This is also related to the existence of the local Polytechnical Secondary  School that, thanks to its focus on engineering, technical building installations and information technologies, supplies the region with a skilled workforce.

Urbanity acquired ownership of the property dating from 1967 more than 5 years ago. The revitalisation took place in several stages, with a large part of the work being carried out in the last 3 years. The entire campus should be completed by 2026.

Urban Campus Bruntál
The construction of the Urbanity campuses that began in Tachov are also planned for two more locations: Bruntál and Žirovnice. Four halls of 3,300 m2, 4,800 m2, 9,500 m2 and 36,000 m2 will be built in the Bruntál complex. The company should receive the building permit in a matter of weeks. “The campus will once again have its own unique visual,” stated Šimáčková. “What’s more, the fourth building will be exceptional not only for its area of 36,000 m2, but also for its height, as it will be 20 meters high.”

The developer expects the construction to begin this year, and the implementation of a new public road along with a mass transit bus stop, which will be right in front of the complex, will also be part of the project.

Urbanity Campus Žirovnice –“Build to own”
The project in Žirovnice is planned to be “Build to-own”. This means it will be customised for and owned by a specific interested party. It is situated in a location on the border of the South Bohemian and Vysočina regions. As Šimáčková said, the company is currently looking for acquisition opportunities in larger Czech cities.

Urbanity is part of the M.L. Moran investment group, which was founded in 1996 and specialises in long-term investments, especially in industrial properties and in start-ups.