New Multifunctional Center to be Built at Puskás Ferenc Stadion Metro Station

The 29,000 sqm GBA development will offer commercial and service space, a unique F&B hub, offices, and a hotel as well.

The Centrale complex sits on Budapest’s busiest intersection of Kerepesi út and Hungária körút, where more 100,000 vehicles drive past, and where 70,000+ pedestrians use the intermodal transport hub on a daily basis. The main objective of the project is to cater to the needs of the diverse mix of users, be it transport or residential users, and the nearby office and event users, in creating a pleasing commercially and architecturally unique hub.

As the Centrale name embodies, the site is at the intersection of Districts XIV, X, and VIII, right next door to Puskás Aréna and  Papp László Sport Arena. Major national projects are further under development surrounding the site, to name a few the continuously developing Városliget Park and Museum District, the Military History museum across the road, the expanding MTK sports training and facilities grounds, and the planned national ice skating stadium.

Developed by Chain Bridge Ventures and designed by Bánáti + Hartvig Architects, the 29,000 sqm GBA complex is a pioneer in Hungary. The building's multifunctional character is created by a mix of retail and catering establishments, offices, and a hotel. It is expected that approximately 40 shops and service outlets will open on over 6,000 sqm on the ground floor, including a supermarket, drugstore, pharmacy, banks, telecoms, FMCG, and beauty services.

A curated F&B experience hall of over 2,000 sqm will sit on the first floor. The light-filled space with terraces, will serve as the neighborhood hangout space and as the meeting point pre and post-concerts, and thus cater to a wide range of clientele. An approx 5,000 sqm 3-story modern office tower will sit atop the commercial center on the Hungaria körút facing side, while a 170-room 4-star hotel will sit atop the Puskás Aréna facing side.

A 100-space overground car park will also be erected, complementing the large parking garage of the Papp László Arena directly connected to Centrale.

The building will feature a lightweight steel structure that is sitting on top of the metro but not overloading the metro structure. The building is aiming for a high-level Breeam certification and will offer modern engineering and energy-saving solutions. The building is planned to be complemented by a large green roof and landscaped areas covering an area of nearly 7,000 sqm, making it one of Hungary’s largest commercial green roofs of its kind.

"Already back when the Papp László Aréna was announced to be redeveloped and the football stadium would have sooner or later been redeveloped as well, I realized that the area has great potential. Seeing the dilapidated state of the Puskás Ferenc Stadion station and buildings, I had the vision of extracting value out of otherwise disused lands on top of a public transport site, as is popular in modern cities around the world," said Michael Gagel, partner of Chain Bridge Ventures.

"I began to implement this vision but it has been a very long road and complicated process due to the legal, legislative, and technical nature of this project, involving numerous public stakeholders. Putting this puzzle together needed a lot of vision and perseverance; luckily enough all involved parties understood the vision and the need to drive this site forward for the sake of the public realm and the major public investments that occurred and will occur in this area. I wish to thank all involved public stakeholders, namely the State, Zugló municipality, BKV transport authority, the Budapest Central municipality, the National Sports Ministry, and many more," he added.

An important public contribution of the developers is the infrastructure improvement of the Puskás Ferenc Stadion metro station with the redevelopment of the station entrances and the construction of new escalators to the otherwise stair-access-only station, leading directly to the climatized and comfortable commercial passage of the complex. In doing so, both the passenger comfort and ever-growing capacity needs will meet the modern requirements of this continuously developing area. The developers will work in close cooperation with BKV Transport Authority in order to minimize the inconvenience caused by changes to the traffic flow throughout the construction period.

Furthermore, the connecting public areas will also be renovated including a re-landscaping of the Hungária körút facing plot and landscaping of the Ifjusag utja side plots with the establishment of a 2,500 sqm green park. Additionally, a bicycle lane will be established along Kerepesi út.

"Recognizing the trend of people being constantly on the move and looking for fast, convenient solutions, we designed Centrale to be a compact community space adapted to the urban lifestyle, and as Zuglo’s and the wider neighborhoods’ daily convenience center. In response to the challenges of modern living, we offer a unique mixed-use solution that stands out from traditional shopping centers and standalone office and hotel assets," said Beni Gagel, partner of the Centrale project and the Chain Bridge Ventures.

"The carefully put together mixed-use elements will be a rare example of where the ‘sum of the parts is greater than the whole. I can report that although we have been in a challenging economic environment, the market and potential tenants that we have discussed the project with have all understood its power and future potential. This has allowed us to achieve a nearly 50% pre-lease even before we had a building permit in place. We will make further announcements on this in the near future," Gagel added.

The building is expected to be completed in 2026.