Building hamlets for yourself

Developers seem to be declaring – “the bigger the better” and are purchasing large chunks of land for projects, promoting them in the media, before breaking them
up and selling the component parts, pocketing a hefty profit in the process.
The glitter of Warsaw’s Miasteczko Wilanów, which was to have blazed a trail for such schemes, now seems to have faded somewhat

Robert J. Moritz, board president of the stock-exchange listed TUP company, has this to say of Miasteczko Wilanów: “I don’t like it – it is not a town built from the foundations, but instead is a housing estate, a mere dormitory for thousands of people.” His company is soon to begin work on a multifunctional project in Siewierz – a Katowice suburb – where it has secured around 120-ha of land on the banks of the Przeczycko-Siewierski reservoir by signing preliminary contracts with private individuals and Elektrobud. The idea was born a month ago during charrette workshops in which architects, urban planners, local government officials and residents took part.

The fruit of nine days of effort were plans for 1,500-1,800 residential units (flats and houses of a total area of around 160,000 sqm) to be built by 2012 within the first stage on around 44-ha, together with a motel, hotel with conference complex, a market place and a yachting marina. Around 60,000 sqm of utility space will be set aside for offices and services.

It should have been
so wonderful

Before the final step is taken, we should take a look back on what Zbigniew W. Okoński of Prokom Investments and Guy Perry of Investment Environments – who is looking after the urban planning aspect – had to say several years ago about the initial concept of Miasteczko Wilanów.

In 1998 Prokom purchased 169-ha from the Warsaw Agricultural University (SGGW). Two years later they painted a picture on the pages of this magazine of “a self-sufficient small town, with all the elements which usually take many years to develop. The plans include a new town hall, church, German-language school, shopping district with market square, homes, offices, a hotel, a conference centre and recreational facilities.” Between 12,000 and 15,000 Varsovians were to be living there. Seven years passed. Zbigniew W. Okoński, who had headed the project, moved in October to Robyg (which is also developing flats in Miasteczko Wilanów), while undeveloped parts of the huge project were taken over by Wojciech Ciurzyński, head of Polnord, which is also part of Ryszard Krauze’s stable. The rest is held by developers who are busy with their own apartment blocks (the aforementioned Robyg, Mill-Yon, TFI Skarbiec, Fadesa). The fall-out after those grandiose visions are the many furious residents complaining they had purchased homes in an independent district, but will now have to live in a dormitory which, in addition, is difficult to get to. Even so, the underlying idea of the Miasteczko became an inspiration for many developers.

Finally approaching
the finishing line

Wojciech Ciurzyński reveals that: “We purchased around 80-ha of land from Prokom Investments, but we are going to sell 30-ha of that to the city to allow the development of a street infrastructure. The Miasteczko town centre is to take up another 14-ha, which is to be used for 40,000-55,000 sqm of shopping and service area, as well as a 180-room hotel and 1,000 apartments. The total cost is expected to be PLN 1.5 bln. The construction of the town centre will proceed in stages and start from the south-western section where residential buildings will dominate. Polnord has, at last, made public its plans for a business complex. A technological park is to take up 17-ha and contain 150,000 sqm of office space in 7 groups of low buildings surrounded by greenery. Two studios, Hermanowicz, Rewski Architekci and Mąka.Sojka.Architekci are responsible for drawing up the plans for this project. The development of the A+ class park – as Mr Ciurzyński proudly terms it – is to cost PLN 1 bln, with the income from the investment amounting to PLN 1.5 bln. Polnord has already signed the first letter of intent for the lease of 20,000-30,000 sqm of space with Asseco Poland. The first 60,000 sqm of offices will be ready by 2010, the entire project to be ready by 2012. Construction of the villa section of the project will begin in 2008, though the great major of potential residents will have to reject any thought of purchase since the price of a single house is to amount to around a “trivial” PLN 15 mln.

Wojciech Ciurzyński is keen to emphasize that: “I hope the whole project will be ready by 2012. I cannot be responsible for other developers since we lost control of their activities when Prokom Investments sold the sites. However, the excellent local development plan keeps a tight hold on all of us.” In his opinion, the loud complaints which are voiced from time to time – that Miasteczko’s owners are trying to maximise profits at the cost of their customers’ comfort – are unfounded.

Polnord’s president of the board insists that: “Some projects could not be started earlier, e.g. some streets and squares, since the trucks travelling around the building site could cause much damage. But we are conducting a heated discussion about building kindergartens with the local authorities. We have also done much for other institutions, including the Medicover hospital. We sold the land for that scheme for around PLN 1,000 per sqm, well below the market price of PLN 2,500 per sqm. We are aware that such a facility is needed by the residents.”

A bit of work
on the side

But enough has been said of Miasteczko Wilanów, which has dominated the headlines for almost 10 years. Polnord is already preparing itself for another substantial project. A small town is to be developed on a 100-ha site in Dopiewiec, a Poznań suburb, in which around 10,000-15,000 people will take up residence.

Wojciech Ciurzyński describes this as a: “joint project with Linea, a local firm, whose job will be to develop the homes. We presently own one third of the land taken over from Prokom Investment, and are negotiating the purchase of a further one third. A total of 360,000 sqm residential space can be built on these sites, which means our target contribution will be 240,000 sqm.”

In the case of Miasteczko Siewierz, Robert J. Moritz also plans to sell developers individual sites, including smaller local companies which are better prepared to sense the local climate. The TUP head remarks: “We want to keep our finger on the pulse of the whole venture but not to physically develop it.” The company’s task is to prepare the project, cooperate with the authorities, which must approve the local development plan (the new owner of the site hopes that will happen in the autumn of 2008), creating an attractive image and ensuring the development of the infrastructure (no cost estimates have yet been drafted).

What a big one!

Professor Stefan Kuryłowicz, a Warsaw architect, is a name associated with many colossal projects. He drew up the concept to develop the land of Arcelor Warsaw Steel Mills owned by the Arcelor consortium. Pirelli Pekao Real Estate is also casting a lascivious eye at the property (at least 300-ha).

Dąbie airport in Szczecin is yet another challenge (almost 230-ha). Kuryłowicz has carried out a commission from TriGránit Development for a concept to develop that land. It may be that this developer with Hungarian roots will have to face up to another company – Redevco – which has also expressed interest in this venture. Szczecin’s city authorities at the recent Expo Real trade fair in Munich also tried to tempt other investors to be interested in this airport by submitting a TriGránit presentation. The city authorities let it be known in October that deputy mayor Krzysztof Nowak had met with Ken Schwartz, Global 4 Development’s managing director. The council has announced that: “The city is about to complete the airport’s functional concept. The document has still to be finally approved by the Office of Civil Aviation. Once the concept is approved, land to be used for the airport will be reserved for commercial development. Land excluded from aviation activities will be the first to be developed and will be delivered to a potential developer through a public tender.”

Significant changes may also take place in the village of Łomna (Czosnów Mazowiecki), due to an investment by Kingslet– an Irish company. This project is set to change the appearance and character of 164-ha – a project which might once again be compared with Miasteczko Wilanów. Fewer Harrington Lawlor & Partners is the Irish architectural studio responsible for the concept to develop the former collective farmland in the name of the Irish investors. A residential complex for 30,000 people is to be built on the site, as well as a shopping and service centre (exceeding 140,000 sqm), a conference and display centre of 95.000 sqm, several production plants, three hotels, an office park, as amphitheatre, a Vistula river pier and recreational and educational buildings    n

Ewa Andrzejewska