Real estate management company Tishman International Companies conducted a business meeting with Bulgaria's trade attache in the country's diplomatic mission in California on February 23 2010, a company media statement said.

The meeting was due to be attended by Arlene Pepp, Tishman's deputy president. Tishman is one of the partners in the construction of the Sofia Airport Centre business park, poised to be the largest of its kind in the country, and only the second building in Bulgaria, after the US embassy, to receive a LEED certificate.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998. It provides standards for the environmentally sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings and neighbourhoods. LEED has grown to encompass more than 14 000 projects in the US and 30 other countries.

Also present at the meeting was Andy Cohen, regional manager of Gensler, an architectural company for design, construction and planning, which is designing the Arco Towers in Sofia.

Tishman and Gensler are "long-term partners that have worked side by side on many projects in the past", the media statement said.

"This is an excellent example of how to conduct business in Bulgaria. Combined with American technology, you get a project amalgamating two different worlds," the statement said.

Sofia Airport Centre, co-owned by Tishman International Companies and GE Real Estate for Central and Eastern Europe, apparently remains on track in spite of Bulgaria's deteriorating market conditions.

Tishman International and GE Real Estate form one of the investment arms of the United States industrial conglomerate, General Electric.

The entire project consists of 165 000 sq m in gross floor area, of which 100 000 sq m will be designated for offices and 22 000 sq m for warehouses. A 250-room business hotel, with ample parking space and retail stores, will also be built.

Current rates in the sector are pegged at  6.35 euro per month for warehouse spaces, a higher price than the standard three to five euro for Central and Eastern Europe. Once the first phase of Sofia Airport Centre is completed, 27 000 sq m will be available for warehouses and office spaces.