Briefs

Sports and retail centre in Lublin

Polish/Norwegian based Lublinianka leased 7 hectares of land for the construction of a mixed-use sports and retail facility, which will include a stadium holding 14,000 people and a 2 storey sports hall, from authorities in Lublin, southeastern Poland.
Lublinianka will lease the site, which currently houses the Lublinianka Sports Club, for 50 years. The cost of the planed investment is estimated at over PLN 400 mln. Tenders to choose contractors are to be held later this year. Shareholders of the company are three Norwegian investors: Thormod Sikkeland, Torleit Limseth and Nicolas Nunington (80 percent) and KS Lublinianka (20 percent). (Source: Puls Biznesu)

Zara opens third store

The Zara clothes chain is set to open its third shop in Poland in Kraków, southern Poland after opening in Warsaw and Wrocław. The new 1,800 sqm store will be in Plaza Centers' Kraków Plaza multi-purpose retail and entertainment complex, which opened in December 2001.

Retail centre in Śląsk

A 1,586 sqm retail complex is to be built in Będzin, Śląsk southern Poland. Mostostal Zabrze - Holding SA, will develop the scheme for German retail chain LiDL. The project will also offer 385 sqm of warehousing space.

EUR 200 mln investment to be launched in September

Former factory project ,Manufaktura" 45 % preleased Although work has not started yet on the former Poznański factory in Łódź, 45 % of the retail space in what is to be a mixed-use retail and entertainment centre has already been leased. The bosses of Apsys, investor and manager of the Manufaktura project, which is to cost EUR 200 mln, are happy as they have already signed agreements with almost a hundred tenants.
So far, the only evidence of the French based Apsys in Łódź is in a small renovated building where information on the project can be obtained. However, by September this year work will have begun on the 27 hectare complex. ,We are expecting to employ some 3,500 workers. Our partners have already started their tenders to select contracting companies," explained Jean-Yves Ebel, head of the Manufaktura project. The 150,000 sqm complex, being built on the site of the former Izrael Poznański factory, will comprise a shopping centre with 250 units, an 8,000 sqm Geant hypermarket, a 10-screen Multikino, bowling alley and a 50,000sqm Dynamix entertainment centre, with amongst others, a climbing wall and squash courts. One of the buildings will contain a 3-star hotel with about 200 rooms. Maurice Bansay, head of Apsys, admitted that the company has not yet found an operator which would invest in it.
Manufaktura will also include three museums: Modern Art, Science and Technology for children and of History of Łódź.
Apsys bosses hope that Manufaktura will attract 12 mln visitor a year. ,One of the attractions will be a kind of cultural centre for children, the only one of this kind in Poland. I think the number of visitors here will be higher than in a similar scheme in Paris. One reason for this is due to lack of competition," says Jean-Yves Ebel.
The original name of the project was "Nowy Świat" ("New World"). However, the investor concluded that the inhabitants of Łódź associated this name with Warsaw, and after much deliberation a name was chosen which is seen to relate to local tradition.

 

New retail scheme in Olsztyn

Authorities in Olsztyn, north western Poland, are looking for an investor to buy an 1.8 hectare plot located in the city centre. The site would suit a multi-purpose scheme such as a retail and entertainment centre.
A tender is to be held in 2-3 months. The asking price is PLN 20 mln with the purchaser having the responsibility for organising the architectural tender.

Ahold in Gdynia

Supermarket operator, Ahold Polska, has leased 1,400 sqm in Centrum Rodzinne Witawa (Witawa Family Centre) in Gdynia, northern Poland.
Centrum Rodzinne Witawa is a mixed-use complex comprising 7,100 sqm of retail space and 480 residential units. Allcon and Mega are general contractors appointed on the scheme, which is slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2003. Allcon Investment and Ekolan are the investors. Architektoniczne Studio Autorskie Mariana Synakiewicza designed the project.

Construction to start on Arkadia

Construction is set to start on the 287,000 sqm Arkadia retail development in Warsaw this month although the French based developer, CEFIC Polska, has not yet selected a general contractor. Sister company BEG Ingenieur are to take on project management of the scheme with Warbud carrying out the construction.
Located near the Babka roundabout in north western Warsaw, tenants already signed to Arkadia include Carrefour who have taken 13,000 sqm and Media Markt who leased 5,000 sqm. Cinema City, the multiplex operator also plans to take space in the development.

Echo complete first phase

The opening of a 5,200 sqm Nomi, construction materials supermarket, at the end of last month marked the end of the first phase of the Echo Retail Centre in Pabianice, central Poland. The developer, Echo Investment, is currently awaiting final permits before starting work on the second phase which will include a 14,500 sqm Hypernova anchored retail gallery.

TK announce EUR 88.8 mln earnings

Danish based TK Development (operating in Poland under the name of TK Polska Operations) announced its earnings from 1 February 2001 to 31 January 2002 amounted to EUR 88.8 mln.
The company also announced it is to build several medium sized retail centres with the Dutch Ahold supermarket chain.