From Trump Tower to Liberty Tower

It was where, in 1940, the Nazis erected a barrier closing off ul. Żelazna - one of nineteen gates leading into the Warsaw Ghetto. It was captured in a famous photograph taken that year. "My interest in this property started from the moment I saw this picture. Only the factory at the crossroads of ul. Grzybowska and ul. Żelazna remains today, constituting material evidence of the Ghetto boundary," remarks Maksymilian Max Ebenstein, the president of Liberty Development Poland. In 2006 the company put plans into motion to purchase the historic properties in order to revitalise and reconstruct them. Sometime later, the project was extended with an adjacent area for a commercial development (along ul. Grzybowska, facing ul. Żelazna up to the area of the former Browary Warszawskie brewery). The commercial project will involve the construction of two office buildings: an eight-storey one on the street front along ul. Grzybowska, together with a 140m tower, which will contain 6,000 sqm and 59,000 sqm of office space respectively.

Five years of preparations

Preparing the commercial project has taken over five years. The investor initially planned to build a luxury apartment building on the site. Two architects were commissioned to work on the architectural concept: Stefan Kuryłowicz of APA Kuryłowicz & Associates and renowned American architect Costas Kondylis. The work on the concept for the residential tower (which was planned to be 160m in height) finished in July 2008. "We wanted the skyscraper to be called Trump Tower and be part of the properties managed by The Trump Organization owned by American developer Donald Trump. Negotiations over the issue were at a very advanced stage. Unfortunately, in September 2008 Lehman Brothers collapsed and the first signs of the financial and then the real estate crisis became all too evident. That was why we decided to suspend further negotiations before starting our cooperation with The Trump Organization," recalls Max Ebenstein. Liberty Development Poland, however, was not wasting its time. It started the painstaking procedure of acquiring all the necessary administrative permits. After four years the company had obtained all the decisions required to start the construction work, but the concept has now changed to that of an office project. "We are currently cooperating with the APA Wojciechowski architectural studio," says Max Ebenstein, "our common goal is to build an icon of modern architecture that will be a showpiece for Warsaw. The project will consist of class 'A' LEED-certified office buildings."

When will the construction start?

Liberty Development Poland hopes to start the construction work in Q2 2014. "We have two site development conditions decisions granted. One allows us to build a tall main tower to a height of 100m and another to build it up to 140m instead. We currently have a final building permit for all the buildings, including the 100m tower, as well as permits for the reconstruction of the heating and power systems. However, we are planning to apply for a temporary building permit for the construction of the 140m skyscraper, which would have 36-storeys," says Max Ebenstein. The company will deliver between 40,000 sqm and 59,000 sqm of office space to the market (in addition to the 6,000 sqm in the eight-storey frontage). If they build the tower up to 140m, the costs of the project will come to app. EUR 100 mln. "We are considering starting the construction work on a speculative risk basis. At the end of Q2 2014, we will start the redevelopment of the heating and power infrastructure and the construction of the underground car park. The completion of the four-level car park is planned for Q3 2015. By then the company intends to have pre-leased an area sufficient to raise the funds for the continuation of the construction work," explains Max Ebenstein. But there is also another scenario. Liberty Development Poland has not ruled out selling the commercial space. "The reason for this is the fierce competition on the market. Importantly, the historic sections are not for sale. I have an emotional attachment to the renovation of these buildings and would like it to be my contribution to the history of Warsaw and its Jewish community. We are planning a restaurant in the lower, corner section, where the former factory was located. Our plans also involve the reconstruction of a tenement house on ul. Żelazna, which due to its physical state and the risk of it collapsing, unfortunately had to be dismantled. However, we retained around 30,000 numbered bricks from the building, which will be used for the reconstruction of the eastern wall of the house in the 1940 photo. The façade of the house on ul. Żelazna will also be partly reconstructed to recreate its its pre-war appearance," says Max Ebenstein. Once rebuilt, the building will contain offices. The entire historic section of the project has a useable area of app. 3,500 sqm.