OREANDA-NEWS. July 19, 2013. The Executive Board of Eesti Pank decided to sell the bank's two-building property in Kuressaare to Arensburg OU for 552,255 euros. Arensburg OU manages the Arensburg Hotel near the bank’s property.

Arensburg OU was the only bidder at the auction that started at the beginning of June. The initial asking price of the property at Lossi 6 was 500,000 euros.

“We hope to finalise the sale soon because continuing to use the Kuressaare property in the same way as before does not comply with the principle of an efficient organisation, which is the rationale behind the decisions of Eesti Pank’s Executive Board,“ said Ardo Hansson, Governor of Eesti Pank.

Earlier this year the Board had considered both selling and renting out the property, but as a result of interest to buy expressed during the Doors Open Day in May, it was decided to put the property up for sale. The Executive Board is also analysing various options for improving the use of the Maardu Manor House, but it will take time to reach any decision.

The property at Lossi 6, Kuressaare, is 1,089 square metres, with buildings on 701 square metres. There are two buildings on the property with a total of 886.7 square metres of floorspace: 611.8 in the main building and 274.9 in the outbuilding. In the main building, 93.5 square metres have been rented out as office space under an open-ended contract. The property is intended for commercial purposes and lies within the heritage protection area.

Background
The property in Kuressaare was once the building of the branch of Eesti Pank. Eesti Pank used the building from 1924 until it was nationalised by the Soviet authorities in 1940. The architectural heritage building was returned to the bank in August 1998 and the bank then had it renovated in order to preserve and restore the historical architectural value of the building. Eesti Pank started using the building in August 1999.