Construction of Tech Zity Vilnius starts in the capital

The construction of Tech Zity Vilnius, Europe's largest technology and creative industries campus, is officially launched in the capital's Naujamiest district, on the site of the former Lelija sewing factory. The first phase of the project, covering 16,500 sqm of space, will open its doors in summer 2025, and 75% of the premises have already been leased or reserved.

Vilnius City Municipality has issued building permits for two buildings in the first phase. Three green courtyards will be built within a year, and the transformation of the old sewing factory buildings will create modern offices, a conference centre, a sports and health club, a restaurant courtyard, and coworking spaces. This is the first of three phases of Tech Zity Vilnius, which will bring 5,000 jobs to the city by 2027. 

Tech Zity, which is developing the project, has signed a general contracting agreement with the construction company Gilesta, which won the tender and will carry out the contracting works for EUR 23 million. Work is already underway and is expected to be completed between May and July 2024, depending on the buildings.

„It took us more than two years to go from idea to launch, and it required not only the efforts of our team, but also the support of institutions. We are grateful to the specialists of Vilnius City Municipality and the Department for the Protection of Cultural Property for their efficient cooperation. I have no doubt that Tech Zity Vilnius will contribute not only to the competitiveness of the New Town, but also to the competitiveness of Vilnius as a whole. There are not many such projects in Europe, so both the start-up ecosystem and the capital city will benefit„, says Darius Žakaitis, co-owner of Tech Zity Vilnius.

„According to Romas Palulis, CEO of Gilesta, Tech Zity Vilnius has all the ingredients that make for successful results. 

„First of all, it is unique because it will have a real impact on community change: it is projects like this that shape a city and write its history. Secondly, we share similar values with the developers, we see the process in the same way, so the partnership runs very smoothly from the first minute. Thirdly, the sustainability aspect, which is very important to us as a general contractor, is also important to the client: the choice was made to renovate rather than build a new building, and a lot of the materials will be reused by integrating them into the new design,“ says R. Paliulis.

The interest in the project is confirmed by the leasing figures, with around 75% of the space already reserved and leased in the first phase. 

„We are currently working with the tenants“ teams to coordinate their interior designs. We are also planning the logistics of the conference centre, finalising the selection of restaurants and bars and coordinating the technological details with them. We are developing the idea of a non-traditional health and fitness club, which we will report more on later," says Žakaitis.

As previously announced, one of the most successful Lithuanian start-ups Omnisend, a fast-growing climate technology start-up HeavyFinance, Turing College, an educational innovation company, and Pepi Play, a studio of game developers, were the first ones to set up in Tech Zity Vilnius. Negotiations have also been finalised with game developer TutoTOONS, who will also be based at Tech Zity Vilnius.

„Tech Zity Vilnius will have a four-space conference centre that can accommodate up to 1000 participants. 7 different restaurants, cafés and bars will ensure the vitality of the leisure area. “Tech Zity Vilnius will also have co-working, educational and sports spaces. 

„Tech Zity Vilnius will be Europe's largest technology and creative industries campus, developed in Naujamiestis, in the former Lelija sewing factory complex. The first phase will open about a third of the total planned complex - 15,500 sqm out of the planned 55,000 sqm. 

„Tech Zity manages four start-up, technology and creative industries locations in Vilnius - Tech Park, Tech Arts, Tech Loft and the future Tech Zity Vilnius. The company also owns Tech Spa, a workplace project in Druskininkai.