A few articles :
Warsaw on the up & up
12 October 2005
Warsaw is one of the biggest and most dynamic markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Modern office space accounts for 18.5 percent of the total in the seven main CEE markets-Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Moscow, Prague, Sofia and Warsaw. That makes Warsaw the second-biggest office market after Moscow.
Approximately 650,000 sq m of office space in the CEE region was completed in the first six months of 2005, a decline of 7 percent year-on-year. In Warsaw supply for the first six months amounted to 50,600 sq m and was lower compared to the first half of 2004.
CB Richard Ellis estimates that approximately 100,000 sq m of new stock will enter the Warsaw office market by the end of this year.
Reduced supply contributed to a decrease in vacancy rates in every major CEE market this year. At the end of the second quarter of 2005 the vacancy rate was at the average level of 9.1 percent for all CEE markets. Declining vacancy rates over the last year have been especially noticeable in Warsaw, Bratislava, Bucharest and Budapest. The vacancy rate for Warsaw as a whole decreased to 10.25 percent as of the end of second quarter 2005. This decrease resulted from a fall in vacancy both in the City Center to the level of 13.97 percent and in Non-Central locations to the level of 7.61 percent.
Demand for office space in CEE has remained strong in 2005, despite slowing markets in Western Europe.
The Warsaw office occupational market accounted for 19.5 percent-i.e. 175,214 sq m of the total 900,000 sq m leased in the CEE region. CB Richard Ellis attributes the continued growth in the CEE occupation market to robust economic growth, rapid expansion of the service sector in most CEE markets and last year's accession by eight CEE countries to the European Union, which has prompted an increase in outsourcing and offshoring to CEE. Undoubtedly,
the EU accession positively influenced the growth in demand for high-quality office space. Poland, for example, with its low wage base, a well-educated and skilled labor force has been already targeted by major corporate companies and will benefit more from Business Process Offshoring in future.
Strong investment demand has been a common trend for the last few quarters and has had a direct impact on yields. Prime yields in Central and Eastern Europe are constantly under downward pressure due to a shortage of available product and ever-increasing demand. CB Richard Ellis expects that prime yields will continue to fall in 2005, with office yields in Warsaw and its peer group Prague and Budapest quickly approaching 7 percent by the end of this year. However, some of the prestigious office buildings with high quality tenants are already achieving yield below 7 percent.
Changes Around the Corner
12 October 2005
Luxembourg-based ORCO company may start a new trend in Warsaw-based on purchasing existing buildings only to demolish them and build new ones in their place. Until now, investors and developers active in the Polish capital have primarily built their facilities on vacant lots. In promoting its investment opportunities, Warsaw has offered a large number of vacant lots, even in the central districts of the city. But the number of such lots is shrinking, especially in the center.
ORCO bought the City Center, constructed in 1991, for zl.41.5 million and plans to replace it with a 192-meter residential high-rise with 340 high-standard apartments. This will be the tallest residential building in Warsaw. The company has commissioned the design from international architect Daniel Libeskind, his first design for a Polish city. ORCO's decision was determined by the location. The project will be built in a central point of the city, next to the Złote Tarasy retail-culture-entertainment center-which the investor, ING Real Estate, plans to open next year-and the Rondo 1 office building soon to be completed by Hochtief Project Development.
Not far from the ORCO project, another high-rise is planned: an apartment building designed by leading Polish architect Stefan Kuryłowicz, with Polish-American Shalom Foundation acting as developer.
Both buildings will be erected in the vicinity of Defilad Square, with its still-undeveloped areas around the Palace of Culture and Science. City authorities have intended to develop this square for years, but with little success.
Now the initiative by private investors may finally mobilize public decision makers and work will actually get under way on Defilad Square. The planned project involves big-city architecture with service, office, cultural and tourist functions. The facilities would be built for money provided by private investors and from local government funds.
There is every indication that the contemporary Art Museum will be the first project to be created; an architectural competition for the preparation of a design for the project will be announced soon. In mid-September, a few days before the start of the Chopin International Piano Competition, a [
B]cornerstone for the Chopin Center was laid.[/B] In another project, an architectural competition for the
Museum of the History of Polish Jews has been announced; construction will begin soon. The museum will be built on the basis of a design provided by a Finnish studio, Lahdelma & Mahlamäki. An architectural competition for the
Kopernik Science Center is in progress. The center will be beautifully located on the Vistula River near the modern building of the University Library with a roof garden. Also awaiting completion are tenders for the
reconstruction of Saski Palace and
modernization of the Legia sports club complex on Łazienkowska Street.
Work to
upgrade Krakowskie Przedmieście will begin any moment now; a "revitalization design" has already been approved.
The project is part of a larger undertaking involving the revitalization of the Royal Route-from Zamkowy Square all the way to Wilanów. A program for the
revitalization of the Śródmieście district is in the last stage of preparation. Preparations are also under way to build
Północny Bridge, and then city authorities want to build three more bridges. Thanks to the prospect of co-financing from European Union funds,
the planned construction of the second and third Metro lines is increasingly realistic.
Construction is ending on the Hilton hotel, another high-class hotel in Warsaw. Construction is in progress on office buildings (with Ghelamco and AIG as developers) and on apartment buildings (including Vittera and Bouygues) in the center as well as many residential developments just outside the center. This does not mean that the supply of vacant lots in Warsaw is ending. Port Praski, Port Żerański, Inflandzka Street, Wilanów, Ursynów and other parts of the city are still waiting for investors.
Golden Age for the Palace
12 October 2005
The Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN), the tallest building in Warsaw, performs manifold functions: it is a business center with office space, hosting fairs and conferences, a culture center with theaters, movie theaters, museums and exhibition halls and finally, the main attraction for Polish and foreign tourists as a monument of socialist realism and offering the highest observation deck in Warsaw.
Do buildings currently under construction and planned near the palace pose a threat to the attractiveness of the capital city's most famous building? We asked Lech Isakiewicz, president of the board of PKiN, about it.
I have no such fears, since everything that is supposed to be erected in the neighborhood will complement the palace's functions. The future functions of buildings on Defilad Square include culture, entertainment, trade and business tourism. We hope the palace will be the most important point among all structures to be erected here, coordinating the city's conference and exhibition center. Warsaw is the only city in this part of Europe that does not have a proper center of this kind. Our city enjoys a growing interest, but it still lacks a large convention venue and consequently, events that could be held in Warsaw go to other European cities instead. Our Kongresowa Hall can hold up to 3,800 people, but Warsaw is capable of organizing conferences for 5,000 and even 10,000 participants.
Development plans on the side of Emilii Plater Street feature the construction of two buildings designed for conferences and exhibitions, with a surface area of up to 20,000 square meters. Coupled with the exhibition space of the PKiN, the total is around 30,000 sq m of exhibition space. Underneath the main area of the square, other large underground areas could be built. In other words,
there is a chance to build a huge, multifunction center in the very heart of the city, surrounded-within walking distance-by numerous, high-class hotels, close to the train station and central Metro station and with good access (15-20 minutes) to the airport. This is an incredible chance for Warsaw and, naturally, the PKiN.
The nearby investments will increase the appeal of our office space as well as the cultural establishments, restaurants and colleges renting our space. Today, we are separated from the city bustle by the vast and empty space of the square, which is difficult to cross and crammed with parked cars.
A dense built-up area, with new stores, cultural institutions, entertainment, restaurants and clubs, will, in turn, bring the city life closer to the PKiN and its interiors. It will open new prospects for the PKiN.
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Some photos :
Rondo1 by @rcube :
Zlote Tarasy by @cube :
Hilton hotel by @rcube :
Novotel hotel (after renovation) by @Pstrykacz :
