From an industrial building to a modern education campus: a new project for Klaipėdos licėjus

Klaipėdos licėjus will move into a repurposed building on the former Švyturys industrial site in central Klaipėda. The approximately 5,300 sq. m premises will include classrooms, a laboratory, library, amphitheatre, sports facilities and a swimming pool, with capacity for around 600 students. Approximately €12 million is expected to be invested in the second phase of the Švyturys UP project.

NOOR has been advising Klaipėdos licėjus from the outset and acts as lead legal counsel on the project. The team structured the transaction, drafted and negotiated the Letter of Intent and a bespoke built-to-suit lease agreement, represented the client in commercial negotiations, and continues to advise on the legal matters required to implement the project.

The structure goes well beyond a conventional lease. Klaipėdos licėjus will initially lease the reconstructed school premises and later acquire the educational complex through a share acquisition transaction. Separate acquisitions of residential premises for students and staff are also planned. This means that several future transactions need to be aligned from the outset and operate within one coherent long-term legal structure.

NOOR also advises on the real estate, regulatory and tax aspects of the project, including the use of state-owned land, arrangements for common areas and rooftop facilities, access solutions ensuring the safe arrival and departure of students, and VAT issues arising from the interaction between VAT-exempt educational activities and the landlord’s VAT-taxable business.

“Some of the most interesting real estate projects today do not involve building from scratch. Sometimes the greatest value comes from giving an existing building an entirely new purpose. In projects like this, our role is to make sure that the physical transformation of the building is supported by a well-designed legal structure that works for the long term,” says NOOR Senior Associate Dovilė Sokolova.

Team: Partner Povilas Karlonas and Senior Associate Dovilė Sokolova.