A tale of two new districts

Now there is a possibility that in ten years' time a twin town is to be built on the north-western outskirts of the capital called Chrzanów. About a year ago the Polish Association of Developers signed a cooperation agreement with the City of Warsaw. The aims of the agreement were as follows: sustainable spatial planning, to cooperate over the image of Warsaw, to solve problems that may arise between the investor and the city administration, to set out principles of cooperation for the implementation of the urban infrastructure related to residential construction, to improve the quality of architectural designs, and to solve problems related to public and welfare housing. The first to be discussed was the zoning plan for an agricultural area in Bemowo district - Chrzanów. Six developers are currently involved in the project, which is eventually to be developed on an area of 240 ha (it was only possible to change the status of the farmland in 2009). Together the Polish Association of Developers and the city authorities are now working on creating a district to answer the needs of the future residents of the area in terms of architecture, urban planning and infrastructure. "In our view an estate as huge as the one in Wilanów could be built here, including full technical and educational infrastructure. Developers are involved in the construction of app. 3,000 apartments in this area at this time, but as many as 30,000-40,000 people could eventually live here, and an entirely new district could be built within around 15 years. We would like the work on the zoning plan for this area to be completed within one and half years," says Wojciech Okoński, the president of the board of the Polish Association of Developers. Developers do not own all the land in Chrzanów just yet: they have only bought 30 ha from local farmers for the first few projects. The first companies involved in the project are Bouygues Immobilier Polska, Nexity, Dom Development, Budimex Nieruchomości, Robyg and Budner. Most will certainly build apartments, but it is not only residential areas that are planned on this land. "A car wash and a petrol station as well as a Biedronka grocery store will be built on ul. Nowolazurowa. Budner is planning to build a Kaufland supermarket," reveals Bohdan Szułczyński, the deputy mayor of Bemowo. The plan being drawn up involves relatively low-rise developments with a maximum of seven storeys along ul. Szeligowska and 12m buildings near ul. Sochaczewska.

How to avoid the pitfalls
The developers have also declared a willingness to build roads where there is no infrastructure at this time."Budimex Nieruchomości is to build ul. Coopera, Robyg will extend ul. Batalionów Chłopskich, while Bouygues Immobilier and Dom Development will extend a street with the working name of 15 KL," adds Bohdan Szułczyński. Chrzanów has been designed to resemble a self-contained town, which was also the idea behind Miasteczko Wilanów. Even the zoning plan for this part of Bemowo is being prepared by BPRW, the same company which was responsible for the local plan in Wilanów. However, both the district authorities and the developers want to avoid the mistakes that were made on the other side of the city. "We have a problem with the water in Chrzanów: now there is only enough of it for 3,000 inhabitants. It is clear that the municipal water and sewage authority will have to supply the infrastructure to this part of Bemowo. We as the city have to provide the land for such projects. We are also negotiating with the developers investing in Chrzanów with regard to providing educational services in the business premises on the ground floors of the residential buildings. We would also like to introduce a pilot programme for public-private nursery schools, which will be paid for out of local council funds," explains Bohdan Szułczyński. However, in one respect things will be more difficult in this district than in Wilanów. The land is owned by several different parties, most of whom are farmers. More plots will have to be transferred to investors, and some will have to be expropriated for the infrastructure. However, the area has great potential because of the planned construction of underground railway lines. The metro could possibly reach Bemowo by 2020, making Chrzanów one of the best connected estates in Warsaw. "Bemowo and Chrzanów have been of interest to developers for a long time. This is due to a number of factors. The most important of these is the fact that the underground should reach this area in a few years. Comparing it to Warsaw's Kabaty and Młociny districts, such a project, apart from its transportation links, also has a city-forming character. Moreover, the area is flat, so it is easy to build there and the access to transport infrastructure is relatively easy. The only drawback of the area is its location on the outskirts of the city, but it is not far from the city centre at all, only 10 km away. Cheap apartments are being built there at the moment, but when the Bemowo section of the underground line is completed, developers will be able to position their projects in a higher market segment," claims Karol Dzięcioł, the director of the development consulting department at Reas.