Out of the rubble

Excellent locations, great panache, spectacular architecture, stubbornness and restless activity have become the hallmark of Ghelamco. The Belgian developer has now been heavily involved in office and residential projects in Poland for several years

Jeroen van der Toolen, the head of the company in Poland, gazes with some pride from his office window at the Trinity Park II office building. The office complex on ul. Postępu in the Mokotów district is now in its final stage. It comprises two office buildings with a restaurant section in the shape of a glass ball. Ghelamco’s boss refuses to reveal who he is negotiating with, but it is no secret that the buildings are soon to be sold, as was the case with the first stage of the Trinity I project which was snapped up by the Arka BZ WBK Real Estate Market Fund. Almost all of the office space of Trinity II has already been leased, with the most important tenant being Fortis Bank, which will occupy 25 pct of the property. Sygma Bank (4,700 sqm) and Olympus (1,600 sqm) have also leased space. The Belgian firm develops quickly and sells just as fast. Apart from Trinity II, the Prosta Office Centre will also go under the hammer for which, it is widely believed, Jeroen van der Toolen already has a buyer.

 Esteemed twins

 It is the Senator office building, however, which is the source of the Ghelamco director’s greatest pride, rather than the Trinity complex and the nearby Marynarska Business Park. Senator will stand at the intersection of ul. Bielańska and al. Solidarności, and as Jeroen van der Toolen claims: “Senator will be a much better office building than the Trinity complex. In addition to the modern systems with which every new building must be equipped, Senator will be especially attractive and prestigious.” But this may well prove to be just a developer’s pipedream, since the building is to be located partly on the site of the old and historic Bank of Poland, and the investment can only go ahead with the city authorities’ approval.

Another investment which this Belgian developer is proud of is very similar to Senator. The Bema Plaza office and residential project is to be built at the intersection of ul. Bema and ul. Drobnera in Wrocław. The 32,000 sqm Bema Plaza will combine 3 functions: office (23,000 sqm), shopping (4,000 sqm) and residential (5,000 sqm). The investment is to cost around EUR 15 mln but the investor can count on the cost being returned with interest since the building is on an excellent site only a short step away from the hugely attractive Ostrów Tumski and the Old Town.

Foksal almost in ruins

 The wait for the Bielańska investment is not the only hurdle facing the Belgian developer. It is also not known when the reconstruction of the historical tenements on Warsaw’s ul. Foksal will begin. According to Jeroen van der Toolen: “We were issued with the conditions to tackle this investment long ago, which allow us to renovate the facades and demolish the rear section of the building. Regretfully, the historic buildings conservator has not given consent to such a solution, despite the buildings – especially number 13 – having been left in ruins thanks to previous tenants.”

It is an indisputable fact that these formerly fine buildings are falling into ruin. After decades of the apartments being used as substitute municipal housing, very little remains of the once fine floors, fireplaces, stucco decorations and frescos. Ghelamco found a pre-war photograph of these buildings some time ago, and this gives a clear picture of how the buildings looked a hundred years ago. Jeroen van der Toolen now wants the Foksal buildings to regain their former glory. Around 60 apartments would be built here as well as an underground car park. Evidently, the prices these restored tenement buildings would fetch in this quarter of Warsaw would break all city records.

Apartments out of rubble

Yet another Ghelamco enterprise is the office and residential complex where the demolished Wojskowe Zakłady Graficzne (Military Printing Works) once stood. In the area bounded by ul. Grzybowska, ul. Wronia, ul. Łucka and ul. Towarowa two residential towers and five office buildings are to be developed. The first to be built will be the 30-storey Chopin Tower with 39,000 sqm of space and 500 apartments. The second residential building – to go up at a later stage of the project – will have 17 storeys and 30,000 sqm of space. The smallest flats will be 50 sqm, and the largest around 200 sqm in size.

Construction work on two office buildings with a combined area of 95,000 sqm will start at the turn of August this year. The entire plot will only be built upon when the first investment stage starts generating income, according to the boss of Ghelamco.

It would seem to be a given that the investment will be sold well before it is finished. When the appropriate contract is signed, only then will Ghelamco start developing the next office building. In the summer of 2009, construction work is to begin on Prosta Tower on ul. Prosta. The investor can already see in his mind’s eye a series of office buildings lined up along this street, somehow reminiscent of a victory arch..

Warsaw has no monopoly

 The Belgian developer is also planning to expand into other Polish cities, and has its sights now trained on Łódź, a city enjoying increasing popularity with investors. Ghelamco is looking for a plot there of around 2-ha for an office and residential investment. Yet another city which is attracting his interest is Kraków, where Ghelamco is also on the hunt for development sites.   

Zuzanna Wiak