Champions of Europe

 Przemysław Kozdój, a legal consultant for law firm Allen & Overy, adds that: “The success last year of the warehouse market is a symptom of the growing health of Poland’s economy, world globalization trends and Poland’s accession to the European Union. The expected expansion of Poland’s transport infrastructure financed by European funds is now encouraging investors to invest in warehouses.”

The industry’s development market is still dominated by the warehousing big boys: ProLogis, Parkridge CE Development, Slough Estates, Panattoni, AIG/Lincoln, Apollo-Rida and Menard Doswell.

 The expected intensive development of Silesia has now begun. Investors have expressed interest in European-standard logistics parks in the region between Katowice and Ostrava (Czech Rep.), the geographic centre of Central and Eastern Europe. Quite apart from its unique location, Silesia also boasts other definite strong points: it has Poland’s greatest density of roads and railway lines and, additionally, the A4 motorway runs through the region and will become part of one of Poland’s two major transportation corridors: the A4 going East-West and the A1 running North-South.

ProLogis last October opened its distribution centre west of Katowice in Chorzów, 4 km from the town centre, with a target number of seven buildings and a total area of 146,500 sqm. Three buildings of more than 84,000 sqm are already in use, while the remaining four are to become functional later this year.

  H2 of this year. BIK now has an investment near the intersection of the A4 motorway and the S1 express highway. The first stage of the Śląskie Centrum Logistyczne in Sosnowiec, with two buildings together providing 23,000 sqm, is now up and running; while in December 2006, the same developer opened its Centrum Logistyczne Kraków II nearby.

ProLogis Park Wrocław II near Wrocław has 2 buildings and a total 47,000 sqm under construction – the first building measuring more than 24,000 sqm is to open this March.

Westerly wind

Slough Estates has also been increasing its activities in Wielkopolska, purchasing a 12-ha site in Komorniki near Poznań in late 2006, on which a 60,000 sqm warehouse and office complex is to be built, and which is still at the design stage. It will be the next stage of the Tulipan Park Poznań complex – the first stage having an area of 44,000 sqm.

North star

ProLogis is about to enter the TriCity warehouse market with the development of a modern logistic centre in Gdańsk for around EUR 40 mln as its first investment. The cornerstone was laid in September 2006 for the more than 88,000 sqm, six-building facility. The first stage of the investment (35,800 sqm in 2 buildings) will be ready this quarter.

Grand Central

Work is to start this month on the construction of a warehouse centre of 50,000 sqm, from the Panattoni Development Company and the Standard Life Investments Select Property Fund, which have together established a joint venture for the purpose of this investment. The warehouse centre is to have a total area of 50,000 sqm, with the first 28,000 sqm to be deliveredShowing obvious signs of anxiety over the successes of other regions, Warsaw is about to take another large step, with ProLogis planning to develop four warehouses in the Targówek district with a total space of 36,000 sqm. Construction of the first two ProLogis Park Warsaw II sheds will begin in Q2 of this year. The development of ProLogis Park Warsaw III, with a target area of 25,000 sqm is also planned, as well as a park in Janki on the outskirts with 84,500 sqm of storage space. The construction of the third stage of the Parkridge DC Warsaw complex in Nadarzyn is nearing completion, where the total space will be 60,000 sqm.

Small and inexpensive

Beata Hryniewska, however, assures us that: “Developers are capable of delivering relatively quickly, in around 6 months, a required warehouse facility on additional plots that most of them possess near already existing storage properties.”

 Analysts predict that the record figures for 2006 will soon be broken. The warehouse market in Poland will continue to expand due to further economic growth and the excellent health of the economy in Poland, together with demand continuing its climb.

Beata Hryniewska predicts that: “Many new modern investments will appear on the Warsaw market following the limited number of new facilities opened in 2006. Warsaw has become a mature and orderly market with stable rents, which now accurately reflect supply and demand – so this situation should not change in 2007.”

Tomasz Cudowski