The first apartment has been completed within the finishing programme “Homeowner”

The first demo apartment has been completed in the renovated, luxurious 28-apartment house in the centre of Riga – at 13 Lāčplēša Street – in the first new project that attracted the many-branched company “Reaton” within the finishing programme “Homeowner”. Involvement in the programme helps the modern busy person to forecast and plan the repair costs of their apartment, to choose the finishing materials more conveniently and simply, by entrusting all the worries about the not-so-simple repair process to professionals.

During the renovation the facade and common areas of the building at 13 Lāčplēša Street were renovated: all windows were replaced with double-pane wooden windows, the staircase was completely renovated – decorative stair railings and stair cover, and also artistic lighting of the building was installed. New entrance wooden doors were installed in the apartments, a new elevator was constructed in the building and a video surveillance system was installed. During the renovation of the house, the apartments retained their previous appearance, leaving the interior improvement to the new owners, so that they could improve it according to their wishes.

In order to facilitate the repair process, the developer of 13 Lāčplēša Street, the company “Axi Invest” decided to address the many-branched company “Reaton” in order to offer the new apartment owners a programme of finishing solutions “Homeowner”. It is a new programme of finishing solutions that the company, in collaboration with designers, has developed for its customers to make the choice of finishing materials significantly more convenient and simpler. Three ready-made finishing solutions have been prepared within the programme in three price categories: Basic, Standard and Premium. All three sets include the main finishing materials: tiles, flooring, wallpaper, doors and a fully equipped bathroom (bath, sink, faucets, towel dryer, bathroom accessories). The manufacturers and design of the finishing materials differ by the sets.

Nomunds Lojāns, representative of company “Axi Invest”, which is the developer of the project at 13 Lāčplēša Street: “We started cooperating with “Reaton” to offer our customers a convenient and fast way to carry out repair works, being aware that no renovations have been carried out indoors. However, each customer has their own understanding of the level of comfort and modern requirements, as well as their own sense of taste. To efficiently and quickly provide the premises with the look that the particular homeowner is willing to achieve, and to be able to start living in the new home or rent it right away; this is a great solution and good help for busy persons today, when planning simple renovation processes.”

Project seller – Laura Semjonova, Sales Consultant of the premium segment real estate company “Baltic Sotheby’s International Realty”: “This house is located in a beautiful, tidy quarter with new and restored buildings, where you can feel the breath of history of the St. Gertrude Old Church, the nearby Quiet Centre and the Old Town, while the building itself is also historic. The renovation works of the building and also of the landscaped yard have been completed, where a large, beautiful magnolia tree is now planted that has been especially transported from Germany to delight the residents of the house with a gorgeous flower ornament in spring. The building now offers comfortable, modern and harmonious living conditions. Within a year since the sale of the apartments and acceptance of reservations, 65% of apartments have found their owners and only 10 apartments and commercial premises remain available. The price of these apartments, taking into account the location of the house – in the heart of Riga, is advantageous and can be assessed within one quarter; for example, in the adjacent exclusive project “Club Central Residence II” the average price per m² is about 4000 euros, while at 13 Lāčplēša Street it is almost half less: about 2200 EUR/m². ”

Egita Spunde, the store manager of Reaton Architecture and Construction Centre, talks about the completed works at 13 Lāčplēša Street, in apartment 22, within the programme “Homeowner”: “In this apartment we placed great emphasis on the quality of the selected materials: they were even higher class than in the Premium programme, thinking about the ergonomics and long service life of the home, which is especially important regarding the sanitary facilities. We carried out complete repair: we replaced the flooring, repaired and equipped the bathroom, installed new lighting fixtures, painted the walls and installed wallpaper, installed “Reaton” interior doors, renovated the radiators by installing thermostats, restored window openings, windowsills, replaced switches and power sockets. In this project it was important to plan the ergonomics of the apartment, as the lighting and wiring depended on it. We deliberately created the style of the apartment in a neutral way, which will give the new owner a lot of freedom in equipping it: all that remains is to take care of the interior items, curtains and equip the kitchen, although we can commit to also implement these works. The repair works were implemented by our masters, and we completed everything within two months. We coordinated all the works: the deliveries of finishing materials from the manufacturers were planned so that all the works took place smoothly, without interruptions. This is a big advantage for the customer, because when choosing materials from different stores and suppliers, very often the works have to be interrupted, while waiting for one of the materials to arrive. The cost of repair works in this apartment reached 191 EUR/m², but the cost of finishing materials – 163 EUR/m². This is a good example of how the programme “Homeowner” can be implemented in accordance with the client’s wishes, the set deadline and the allocated budget.”

Why nowadays, when the market is saturated with a wide range of finishing materials, is it valuable to choose programme “Homeowner”? Egita Spunde lists the advantages: “This programme makes it much easier to find a solution for repair works, because it is possible to estimate the costs. People no longer have to go to many stores looking for the particular material or product, because everything can be found in one place. In addition, there is no need to worry about what the selected materials will look like and whether they will fit together, as the materials of the programme have been coordinated by an interior designer. When choosing the products of “Homeowner”, customers also receive professional advice free of charge. It is evident in this project: if the customer had bought materials from different traders, it would have cost more than choosing this complex offer. During construction, various “out of the blue factors” occur, which cannot even be predicted until the works begin. Therefore, it is important to regularly keep in touch with the client, to communicate about everything that takes place, so that together we can decide what the next step is and how to implement it. This means that the client has the opportunity to receive the services of all our professionals: finishing material consultants, designers, architects and builders. The most important thing nowadays is time, and we help to save it by helping the customer to choose the materials, to combine them, and not to get confused in the offer of the materials and prices. This demo apartment did not undergo a major, cardinal reconstruction, but within the programme we are also ready to demolish walls and build new ones, and our specialists can help the client both to architecturally plan and to officially register such changes.”

On 23 November in the building at 13 Lāčplēša Street from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM an open day will be organised, where all those interested will be able to evaluate both the apartments included in the offer and the repair works implemented in the project demo apartment within the programme “Homeowner”. Those visitors of the event, who will conclude a deal for the purchase of the apartment before the end of this year, will receive a discount for the purchase of the parking space in the closed yard of the building. A parking space for a building in the centre of Riga is a true rarity, therefore this offer will be especially advantageous for customers: if the standard price of the parking space is 12 000 euros; with the discount it will be half less – only 6000 euros.

The client of the renovation works at the reconstructed six-storey building at 13 Lāčplēša Street is “Axi Invest”; the author of the reconstruction project is architect Ilze Mekša, the winner of the Latvian Architecture Annual Award 2018. Investments in the renovation of the house at 13 Lāčplēša Street amounted to approximately one million euros. The building is part of the reborn quarter of Riga City Centre on the section of Baznīcas Street between Lāčplēša and Ģertrūdes streets, which includes two other premium class buildings “Club Central Residence” and a modern health centre.