Project on the Vistula River

Echo Investment could start work on the Vistula River project thanks to an agreement reached in 2001 with the Polish Olympic Committee. As recompense for the possibility of developing four office buildings on a site belonging to the POC, the Kielce developer undertook to construct the Olympic Centre (Centrum Olimpijskie).

Shadows and radiance

The Olympic Centre cornerstone was laid with much pomp and circumstance in October 2002. Poland's President Aleksander Kwaśniewski was among personalities of the world of politics and sport who addressed the official event. But much less was said about the four office buildings which began to emerge rapidly right next to that site. Waldemar Lesiak, Director of Echo Investment Department of Office and Hotel Projects told us the buildings would be delivered on schedule, in the third quarter of this year, stressing his company has obligations to the tenants with whom contracts have been signed. There are two firms involved: Modzelewski & Rodek, connected with the Austrian giant Porr, with whom a five-year contract was concluded for a whole building - 3,000 sqm space (the same company recently was awarded an order by Echo of 18.8 million zlotys net value to finish the Olympic Centre), and also Roche the pharmaceutics company which is to occupy 1,700 sqm for 7 years. The asking rental rates which Echo Investment offers are 16 euro/sqm plus 2.5 to 3.5 euro/sqm maintenance costs. Waldemar Lesiak also informed that his company reached a catering agreement with Impel, but that it will manage the property by itself, since it is not all that complex.

May term under a cloud

The office buildings are to be delivered in the third quarter of 2004, but the Olympic Centre should be ready this May, which is important to the extent that it is to be the place where the farewell ceremony is held for Polish sportspersons flying to the Athens Olympics. But now ecologists from two ecologist organisations, well known to investors, have protested against the whole investment under way at Wybrzeże Gdyńskie Street: the Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków and the Stowarzyszenie Przyjazne Miasto. The latter gained notoriety for the 2 million zlotys donation it received to withdraw its protest against the construction of the Arkadia shopping centre. The issue was reviewed by the province court of administration which abrogated the conditions for developing the investment site, since it noticed a number of procedural errors. The court, additionally under an application from Przyjazne Miasto, was to check the building permit. The court decision was still not legally binding when the April number of this monthly went to print (work on the Vistula construction site was proceeding non-stop), while Adam Pietroń, POC department Director ensured us he would appeal against the court's decision and would not allow construction to be halted. On its part, Echo Investment has kept its mouth firmly closed on the whole issue.