On 19 September 2024 at 2 p.m., the public calls for office space for start-up entrepreneurs and for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to enter Split Technology Park were temporarily suspended. Owing to the large number of applications, and in accordance with the provisions of the public calls, the two calls are being temporarily suspended in order to evaluate the applications received and to draw up a ranking list for the allocation of space within TPS.

Once the evaluation procedure has been completed, decisions will be made on the allocation of space for lease and use, and should further space remain available, the calls will be reopened.

For all information, follow the Split Technology Park website and our social media channels on Instagram and LinkedIN.

On 16 and 17 September, Split Technology Park hosted working meetings between the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the City of Split, the Split Development Agency – RaST and representatives of local entrepreneurs.

The meetings focused on the start of cooperation in implementing the Korea Development Institute’s knowledge sharing programme, an intergovernmental cooperation programme designed to share the Republic of Korea’s development experience with partner countries. The aim of the programme run by KDI is to provide comprehensive expert consultations on a range of topics tailored to the needs of partner countries, from detailed process analysis and capacity building for those involved in management processes, to recommendations for improvement.

The ultimate purpose of the cooperation with the Korea Development Institute in the context of Split Technology Park is to enhance and improve the existing management capacity of TPS in order to provide high-quality services to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, while also making the park attractive to new users and to cooperation at national and international level.

Due to exceptional interest from entrepreneurs in touring the premises of Split Technology Park, the Open Days have been extended until 30 August 2024. So far, more than 180 entrepreneurs interested in joining the park have signed up for a tour, and owing to this strong interest an additional week has been opened with new slots for touring the office space and commercial facilities of Split Technology Park. You can sign up for the remaining tour slots here.

At the same time, to allow all interested entrepreneurs to view the premises before submitting applications to the Public Calls for entry into Split Technology Park, the start of applications has been moved to 2 September 2024. In addition, on Monday, 19 August, all forms required to apply to the calls will be published, together with a set of Questions and Answers received during the Open Days so far. All information and documentation relating to the public calls for start-up entrepreneurs up to 5 years old and for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will be published in the relevant part of the Become a Tenant section.

The public tender for the long-term lease of commercial premises remains unchanged and opens on 19 August at 8 a.m.

Open Days are under way for entrepreneurs who wish to become users of Split Technology Park, the newly opened innovation hub. During the Open Days, which run from 24 July to 23 August, interested entrepreneurs can learn more about the opportunities and facilities available at the park. Registrations are open via the following link.

Housed in a building covering 17,500 square metres, Split Technology Park (TPS) offers ideal conditions for start-up entrepreneurs and micro, small  and medium-sized enterprises from Split and the surrounding area. Future users will have at their disposal a coworking zone with 52 workstations, 14 furnished incubation offices for start-ups up to five years old, and 51 office units for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The site also features a conference centre with four multimedia halls, as well as meeting rooms, shared kitchens, a kindergarten and other commercial facilities: a fitness centre, a shop, a restaurant and two café bars with terraces.

Applications for Split Technology Park open on 19 August

The Split Technology Park website also provides documentation explaining the conditions under which entrepreneurs may apply to use TPS services, to help them prepare thoroughly and in good time for the public calls, which will open on 19 August.

There are three public calls/tenders in total:

• for start-up entrepreneurs up to 5 years old,
• for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,
• for the long-term lease of commercial premises (fitness centre, shop, restaurant and two café bars with terraces).

All information on the public calls is available on the Split Technology Park website in the Become a Tenant section. All questions received from interested entrepreneurs during this period will be addressed regularly, and the answers will be published on the TPS website.

The central building of Split Technology Park, the largest ICT Hub in Croatia, opened today in the Dračevac zone. Its 17,500 square metres house office space for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, incubation offices for start-up entrepreneurs, a coworking zone, a conference centre with four halls, meeting rooms, a Smart City lab and a 3D lab, as well as space for supporting facilities such as a restaurant, two café bars, a fitness centre, a shop and a kindergarten.

“It is with great pride that I stand here on the threshold of a new chapter for our city. Today we open the doors of our largest and most modern technology park, a centre of modern technologies, creativity and business ideas. This place is not just a building, but a place of the future where ideas become reality, creating new jobs and opportunities for all our fellow citizens. This day represents a major step forward for Split and for the whole of Croatia. We are showing the world that we are a modern, contemporary city and country with the ideas, the people and the capacity to deliver major projects. This building is a symbol of the beginning of great new things that will happen here,” said the Mayor of Split, Ivica Puljak, thanking everyone who has been involved from the outset in this complex project, one of the most important for the City of Split.

The complexity of the project is also reflected in its financial scale. The construction was financed through two projects, “Construction and equipping of the central building of Split Technology Park – Dračevac” and “Development of the Dračevac zone – Split Technology Park – Dračevac”, with a total value of EUR 21,866,655.48, of which EUR 13,945,747.52 is co-financed by European Union grants from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014–2020”. The works to reconstruct the former Sv. Križ barracks into this impressive building were carried out by Strabag d.o.o., with professional supervision by Trames d.o.o.

Joining in the congratulations to everyone involved in the project, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković recalled the precondition for its realisation – the Government Decision to donate the valuable site of the former Sv. Križ barracks, adopted at a Government session held in Split in 2018, on the eve of the Feast of St Domnius (Sv. Duje). “This centre is a turning point – a ‘game changer’ – for Split in terms of opportunities for the high-tech industry, enabling young, smart and creative people to use this space to create companies, launch ideas and attract investors. This enormous capacity is an opportunity for Split to establish itself as a technology centre, alongside being a university, cultural, tourism, transport and sports centre,” Prime Minister Plenković stressed.

Today, at a session of the City Council of the City of Split, the Proposal for a Decision on entrusting the management and use of business support infrastructure to Split Development Agency – RaST was adopted, under which Split Technology Park and the RaST+ Entrepreneurship Centre have been entrusted to RaST for management and use. 

RaST moved into the newly equipped premises of the RaST+ Entrepreneurship Centre in March, where it will provide information and advisory services and organise training and workshops for entrepreneurs. 

Split Technology Park in Dračevac will become a new innovation hub housing start-ups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The interior equipping of the facility, landscaping and testing of the building systems are currently under way, to be followed by a call for entrepreneurs to enter the park. All information will be published on the websites of RaST and Split Technology Park. 

Following the technical inspection, an occupancy permit has been obtained for the central building of Split Technology Park. The building is currently being fitted with furniture and multimedia equipment so that the facility is ready for use and for the first tenants to move in in April.

The central building covers 16,800 square metres and houses 8 fully fitted and furnished offices for rent, 14 incubation offices with their own kitchenettes, 4 conference halls, a co-working zone and three high-tech laboratories, as well as facilities such as a canteen with kitchen, two cafés, a childcare area and a fitness and recreation zone.

As a reminder, the construction of the central building is financed through two projects, “Construction and Equipping of the Central Building of Split Technology Park – Dračevac” and “Development of the Dračevac Zone – Split Technology Park – Dračevac”, with a total value of EUR 21,866,655.48 / HRK 164,754,315.70, of which EUR 13,945,747.52 / HRK 105,074,234.69 is co-financed by European Union grants from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014–2020”.

From 6 December 2023 to 14 January 2024, a non-binding public call for expressions of interest was open for using the services and leasing business premises in the central building of Split Technology Park. In total, more than 90 entrepreneurs expressed interest in becoming part of Split Technology Park, whether in the co-working zone, the incubation offices for start-ups, office premises for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, or as lessees of commercial facilities within the park.

The aim of the call was to gather information on the number of interested entrepreneurs and their needs for the services of Split Technology Park. Based on the data collected and an analysis of needs, a binding public call will be launched, which will include formal and qualitative criteria for the selection of service users and lessees of business premises in Split Technology Park.

In the completed online questionnaire, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises expressed a need for more than 11,000 m2 of office space, which exceeds the total office capacity of the central building of Split Technology Park, currently in the final stage of works, to be followed by the equipping and fitting out of the facility.

Most entrepreneurs also indicated a need for a lease longer than 5 years and expressed interest in using various park services, above all conference hall rental, networking, IT support and data centre storage, and business advisory services.

The results of the expressions of interest also showed that the average price entrepreneurs currently pay to lease business premises is in line with the estimated fee for using TPS office space, with the added benefits of possible de minimis aid from the City of Split worth up to 50% of the amount for start-ups, and the opportunity to use the park’s many facilities: conference and meeting rooms, a 3D laboratory, a restaurant/canteen, cafés, a shop, a playroom/childcare area and a fitness centre.

Timeline of activities

Over the next two months, the final fitting out and equipping of the central building, landscaping and the testing phase of all building systems will take place, and, depending on the pace of completion of the works, a binding public call for entrepreneurs to enter the park will be published.

The first areas of the building to be completed will be the common areas, the conference halls and the commercial premises of the cafés, fitness centre, playroom/childcare area and restaurant/canteen. Among the office premises, the first to be fitted out and furnished are the 14 incubation offices for start-ups up to three years old, the co-working space and 8 offices for SMEs. All other offices and premises currently in shell-and-core condition are planned to be completed and made available to interested micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by the end of this year.

Before the binding public call is published, promotional activities and an open day at Split Technology Park are planned, during which all interested prospective tenants will be able to get to know the space, its functionalities and the facilities the building offers.

For all news on the next phases, follow the websites of the City of Split, Split Development Agency – RaST and Split Technology Park, where all information will be published in a timely manner.

The recently published non-binding public call for expressions of interest marked the successful completion of construction works on the central building of Split Technology Park, the largest ICT Hub in Croatia.

“The Split Technology Park project is very complex and one of the most important projects for Split’s future. It was started under the previous administration, and we are delivering it – we are now on the verge of opening the central building. Through this project we want to position Split as a leading centre of high and modern technologies, a centre of regional development and the most modern city in Croatia and beyond. This is certainly the first big step in that direction,” emphasised the Mayor of Split, Ivica Puljak.

First tenants to move in by summer at the latest

The technical inspection is scheduled for this week, after which the premises will be fitted with furniture and multimedia equipment, most of which has already been procured and delivered. The first tenants are expected to move in during the second quarter of 2024. Their new home will span 17,500 square metres, comprising office premises for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, a coworking zone, three high-tech laboratories, meeting rooms and a large congress hall, as well as supporting facilities such as a canteen with kitchen, two cafés, a childcare area and a fitness and recreation zone.

Since last year, the works have been carried out by renowned engineers from Strabag, and the construction of the building has been followed floor by floor by project manager Andrea Racetin Muše, Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning and Project Implementation at the City of Split.

“To deliver the project successfully, it was necessary to launch and carry out more than 40 procurement procedures and, in addition to the lead designer, to coordinate the cooperation of three further designers and, in addition to the main contractor, the work of four further contractors,” Racetin Muše told us as we caught her on her way to yet another site coordination meeting. More than 70 of these have been held so far, alongside numerous other meetings.

A complex project

The complexity of the project is also reflected in its financial scale. The construction of the central building is financed through two projects, “Construction and Equipping of the Central Building of Split Technology Park – Dračevac” and “Development of the Dračevac Zone – Split Technology Park – Dračevac”, with a total value of EUR 21,866,655.48 / HRK 164,754,315.70, of which EUR 13,945,747.52 / HRK 105,074,234.69 is co-financed by European Union grants from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014–2020”.

The project applications were prepared – and the grant funding thereby secured – by Split Development Agency – RaST, which, with the full support of the city services, will manage this knowledge park and work on developing new knowledge and ideas with the aim of diversifying Split’s economy in line with the City Development Strategy.

“RaST has been actively involved in the development of Split Technology Park from the very beginning – from preparing the project proposals through the later phases up to final delivery. I am therefore delighted to see such an important strategic project for the city come to life, from an idea to the moment when the first entrepreneurs begin moving into the building,” said RaST Director Goran Batinić.

Non-binding call open: Become part of the largest ICT Hub in Croatia!

Entrepreneurs will have a range of facilities at their disposal across four floors. The basement houses the co-working zone, designed as an open-plan space with 50 workstations and a total area of 480 m2. With the aim of supporting new entrepreneurs and start-ups, the central building of Split Technology Park will provide services to SMEs that have been operating for less than three years. The incubation area consists of 14 incubation offices with an average size of 45 m2, with their own kitchen and meeting room. For SMEs that are not in the incubation phase, i.e. those older than three years, there are 6 single-storey offices with an average size of 100 m2 and 2 two-storey offices with an average size of 250m2. The central building also contains 5,700 m2 of shell-and-core offices – 46 single-storey business premises with an average size of 100 m2 and 10 two-storey business premises with an average size of 250 m2, whose infrastructure will be completed by the end of 2024, after which they will be available to entrepreneurs to equip and furnish individually according to their own needs. The central building of Split Technology Park will also house the largest publicly owned conference centre in Split, with 400 seats in the main conference hall and an additional 320 seats in three smaller multi-purpose halls that can be combined as needed. Additional facilities have also been provided for, including a restaurant/canteen, two cafés, a shop, a fitness centre and a childcare area/playroom.

Expressions of interest in business premises will be accepted until 14 January 2024 via the online questionnaire on the website tps.com.hr/en/, where other details of interest to entrepreneurs, such as the estimated fee for using the premises, have also been published.

“I invite entrepreneurs and interested lessees to respond to the non-binding public call for expressions of interest with their needs. What matters most to us now is that the business support infrastructure, in which the City of Split has invested a great deal of money, effort and time, comes to life at full capacity. By this I do not mean only the use of the premises, but the use of all existing high-tech knowledge and the development of the new knowledge that this building will generate. A great value of the project also lies in the revitalisation of the entire Dračevac zone and this part of the city, which will gain new infrastructural and business momentum through this project. The interest entrepreneurs have already shown demonstrates that the project was very much needed and that work can begin on developing the rest of the zone. I thank and congratulate everyone who has worked hard on this demanding project from the start and successfully overcome all obstacles and challenges, so that we could complete this phase and bring the central building of Split Technology Park into use,” said Ivica Puljak, Mayor of Split, the city beneath Marjan that is becoming a centre of high technology.

Trivković: A combination of modern infrastructure and progressive activities

We are pleased that construction of the Technology Park is nearing completion and we hope it will soon be ready for occupancy. We expect the conditions and facilities of the entire complex to be such that thousands of square metres will not remain empty. Split Tech City has been working for years to strengthen Split’s IT scene and promote our city as a Mediterranean technology hub, and the Technology Park, as a combination of modern infrastructure and progressive activities, will certainly contribute to our vision and mission, said Toni Trivković, President of Startup – the Association for the Promotion and Development of the IT Sector of Split and the Region (Split Tech City)

Thanks to the project participants

In addition to the contractor, Strabag d.o.o., it is important to acknowledge the other participants in the construction – Trames d.o.o., which provides professional supervision services on this project, led by Zoran Ivanković, head of the team of supervising engineers, and Exstructa d.o.o., led by Marijana Zvonar, project manager under the Building Act, without whose active roles and cooperation it would not have been possible to bring this project to a successful conclusion.

Ahead of the completion of construction works, the City of Split and Split Development Agency – RaST d.o.o. have prepared a non-binding public call for expressions of interest in using the services and leasing business premises in the central building of Split Technology Park, the largest ICT Hub in Croatia.

The aim of the call is to gather information on the number of interested entrepreneurs and their needs for the services of Split Technology Park. Based on the data collected and an analysis of needs, a binding public call will be launched, which will include formal and qualitative criteria for selecting service users and lessees of business premises in Split Technology Park.

Split Technology Park is located in the Mejaši city district, in the Dračevac area, right at the entrance to the city of Split. Designed as the centrepiece of the entire complex, the Split Technology Park building represents the first phase of the revitalisation of the Dračevac zone and a major step towards creating the infrastructural and institutional preconditions for developing a centre of high technology and innovation in Split. The investment is worth EUR 21.8 million, of which EUR 13.9 million is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

Construction of the building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023, followed by a period of equipping, furnishing and fitting out the facility. The first tenants are expected to move in during the second quarter of 2024.

Once completed, the central building will offer the following facilities across an area of 17,500 square metres:

Co-working zone

The co-working zone is designed as an open-plan space with 50 workstations, covering a total area of 480 m2, with its own kitchen, meeting room, rooms for conference calls and a social area with a relaxation zone. Co-working services are intended for entrepreneurs, start-up entrepreneurs and individuals who need occasional use of equipped workstations on a monthly or daily basis. Prices for using the co-working zone will be set out in a separate price list.

Fully fitted and equipped incubation offices for start-ups

With the aim of providing support to new entrepreneurs and start-ups, the central building of Split Technology Park will provide services to SMEs that have been operating for less than three years. The incubation area consists of 14 incubation offices with an average size of 45 m2, with their own kitchen and meeting room. The offices will be leased on favourable terms, all with the aim of creating a supportive environment for the growth of new companies and for overcoming the challenges of the early stages of business. The estimated fee for using these office premises is EUR 12.70/m2 plus EUR 3/m2 for the building’s common costs. Entrepreneurs in the incubation offices may receive de minimis aid from the City of Split worth up to 50% of the office use fee. 

Fitted and furnished office premises for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

For SMEs that are not in the incubation phase, i.e. those older than three years, there are 6 single-storey offices with an average size of 100 m2 and 2 two-storey offices with an average size of 250m2. Entrepreneurs will also have access to three high-tech laboratories and shared kitchens on every floor. The estimated fee for using these office premises is EUR 12.70/m2 plus EUR 3/m2 for the building’s common costs.

Shell-and-core (roh bau) offices for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

The central building of Split Technology Park contains 5,700 m2 of shell-and-core offices – 46 single-storey business premises with an average size of 100 m2 and 10 two-storey business premises with an average size of 250 m2, whose infrastructure will be completed by the end of 2024, after which they will be available to entrepreneurs to equip and furnish individually according to their own needs. The estimated fee for using these office premises is EUR 11.50/m2 plus EUR 3/m2 for the building’s common costs.

Large conference centre

The central building of Split Technology Park will house the largest publicly owned conference centre in Split, with 400 seats in the main conference hall and an additional 320 seats in three smaller multi-purpose halls that can be combined as needed.

Additional facilities

The central building of Split Technology Park also includes additional facilities: a restaurant/canteen, two cafés, a shop, a childcare area/playroom and a fitness centre. For these commercial premises, which are also part of this non-binding public call for expressions of interest, a public call for the lease of business premises will be published, with lessees being legal entities and natural persons (sole traders) providing services in line with the intended use of those premises.

Expressions of interest will be accepted until 14 January 2024 via the online questionnaire at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/8kUnzgU7fu