Omar Koleilat

There’s plenty of work to be done

Text: Martina Hošková and M. Zisso; Photo: Archive

In 2022, Czech Forbes listed your name among the TOP 10 real estate magnates in the country. Why did you choose Czechia?

I am of Czech-Lebanese origin and I grew up in Lebanon, with stops in other countries – including Dubai, where my father worked during Lebanon’s unstable days.

And how did I end up in Prague? My mother is Czech, so it was natural for me to move to the Czech Republic after my studies when Czechia was a fast-growing market.

I had a brother who was brought here by an American corporate, a grandmother, and many other relatives here, but I also had the opportunity to play professional basketball for a Czech team which was a passion of mine, and I was playing professionally throughout my studies.

Making a living from sports was my dream, as it is for many kids. Unfortunately, it didn’t last very long. In the end, it was architecture and the opportunities in the Czech Republic that made me a developer, starting in the late 1990s.

What was it that attracted you to architecture?

As a child, I thought I would become a doctor like most other members of my family (my father graduated in Medicine from Charles University in Prague, as did my other brother). However, during my studies, I developed an interest in construction and urbanism, where space is the common denominator. I naively thought that studying architecture would require fewer actual ‘study hours’ than civil engineering because it has a creative angle… I was terribly wrong. In fact, being an architect requires a broad knowledge of almost everything: spatial understanding – including lighting, technology, and everything that goes into a building – but also social, historical, behavioural, and specialised knowledge in various cases. Anyway, I have a degree in architecture, and I also have a British RICS postgraduate diploma in real estate investment.

Can you share the vision you had when you started your company?

I founded Crestyl over 20 years ago. I was lucky enough to start the business at a time when the market was still relatively raw and with a lot of tailwind.

The market lacked everything. We had the luxury of choosing the sector we wanted to play in. We chose a sector where we could be proud of and enjoy the product we were making, while still being commercially viable. Simply put, we wanted a product that is visually appealing, both on its own and in its context, and that makes us proud whilst making a positive urban impact. We started by developing our own projects in the city centres of secondary towns throughout the Czech Republic. All the investors were only focusing on the biggest cities, but I felt that there was huge potential hidden in the regions.

Gradually, we moved our business to prime locations in Prague and Brno, and in recent years also to the largest Polish cities. ‘Prime’ and ‘unique’ were, and always are, words necessary for any expansion we undertake.

What other countries have you expanded to?

The Czech Republic is our home market. Nevertheless, in 2021, we expanded into Poland with the acquisition of 50% of Budimex Nieruchomości– one of the largest Polish residential platforms owned by Spanish construction giant Ferrovial, with more than 65 projects in five different cities – which we then rebranded as Spravia. Two years later, we completed the 100% acquisition of the company and integrated it into Crestyl, giving the group a presence in the seven largest cities in the region, with a total platform of over €1.5 billion. Of course, we are considering expanding into some of the other countries in the region, primarily Westwards.

Is your original vision still viable today?

If I were to talk about our vision, our philosophy at Crestyl, then yes, I would emphasize again that we want to create beautiful and comfortable places to live, work, and play in every sense of these words, by positively impacting the urban fabric. I find it anachro- nistic to look at individual buildings in isolation, without considering the whole environment as well as the effects on the human scale. The whole is what really matters: the synergy of all the functions a place has to offer, and the people who relate to it. We think not just about the architecture of the buildings, but about the public space, the tenants, the residents, the users, the servicing companies (waste, road cleaning, etc..), the neighbours – all the stakeholders. The fact that we have expertise in retail, office, and residential gives us the opportunity to revitalise places that would otherwise remain stagnant for many years. Simply put, we do not ‘do projects’, but instead build addresses where people want to be. Good addresses add lasting value to a place.

A few months ago, you stepped down from the executive position of the company’s CEO to the role of strategic consultant. Why was this step necessary?

From its inception, Crestyl was built as a platform seeking opera- tional excellence, and hence it cannot be dependent on its founder.

A few years ago, a number of existing managers and talented people from within Crestyl, together with professionals from outside the company, began to form a team with the aim of providing the ultimate leadership for the group. This, together with the expansion into Poland and the streamlining of business lines and countries to create and exploit synergies, was the right time for me to step down as CEO of the Group and hand over responsibility to Simon Johnson, who has been COO of the Group for 12 years, while I moved to become Chairman of the Company. As founder and owner, I will of course continue to be an ally to the management of Crestyl, and will be a partner in discussions regarding future strategic moves.

DOCK and Hagibor are projects that truly changed the landscape of Prague. Will the Savarin Palace follow suit?

DOCK, and now Hagibor, precisely symbolises our goals and strategy – it is a really large, completely neglected area in a great location in the wider centre of Prague, next to the Želivského metro station. We are transforming it into a series of buildings and public spaces, including a pedestrian boulevard with shops and restaurants running from the metro exit to the new square. Basically, a new neighbourhood with all the positive feelings that the word ‘neighbourhood’ can give.

Concerning the Savarin Palace – it is the first phase of the large-scale Savarin project, which will open up to the public a previously inaccessible area in the centre of the metropolis. This is a unique opportunity and a unique project, which opens up the heart of Prague and will exhibit fantastic modern and historical spaces juxtaposed and connected with all the elements necessary at the human scale.

The project is located right next to Wenceslas Square, and fluidly connects the square to Na Příkopě, Jindřišská, and Panská streets, integrating the project into the existing fabric. The project is designed by the contemporary architecture and design world icon Thomas Heatherwick and his studio.

If you were to choose one project you are most proud of, which one would that be?

It would have to be the DOCK project in Libeň. At that time (more than fifteen years ago), DOCK was our biggest investment, with many challenges. Some people did not understand why we decided to buy a neglected piece of land that used to be a dockyard – some even called it a swamp. The project was completed in 2022, and the results of our long-term efforts are clearly visible – major corporations have chosen the DOCK as their headquarters, and the design and urban approach quickly made the residential units extremely in demand, with values in the area increasing by as much as five times throughout the project’s lifetime.

DOCK has breathed life into the area, and has become a natural part of it. It has also proved in practice that our strategy of combining apartments, offices, and shops in one place works perfectly, and that we have fulfilled our mission to have a positive and lasting impact on the urban fabric where we operate.

Where would we find Crestyl and its founder in 10 years?

Our dream for Crestyl is to be a Pan-European platform specialising in projects that improve the urban CRESTYL – Dock fabric. With Crestyl, we want to further raise the standards of quality and design in the Central European real estate industry, and take the market to a higher level.

In general, we want to continue to create projects that integrate and improve their surroundings, and that are always full of life thanks to the combination of different functions. In short, we want to continue to create beautiful places to live in – not only to work or live in, but also to spend time in.

And as for myself, I would love to always be part of Crestyl, hopefully working with the local management teams in many new jurisdictions.