POLAND Around 9,500 sqm of newly modern office space is to be provided by the renovated skyscraper at ul. Moniuszki 1A in Warsaw, after the completion of the modernisation work that is just starting. After many years Orange Polska, which before privatisation was the state telecom company Telekomunikacja Polska, is consolidating its separate offices and moving out of the building. Its new address is Miasteczko Orange at Al. Jerozolimskie 160. So what will happen to the office tower at ul. Moniuszki 1A?
“The building was constructed in 2001 for the offices of the management board and directorate of Telekomunikacja Polska, and was equipped with technological installations different from those of the time. The standard of the offices was also different. This applies mainly to the security of the power supply for the building – apart from two independent medium-voltage lines the building also has its own generator and a huge UPS battery, which is able to provide a guaranteed voltage to all the workstations,” explains Jakub Szczepanik, the head of project management at Central Europe Catalyst Capital, the owner of the property. “In addition to that,” he adds, “the office building was equipped with an efficient ventilation and air-conditioning system that distributes 50 cubic metres of air per person per hour, as well as telecommunications infrastructure capable of providing future tenants with basically any bandwidth available at whatever the current status of technological development is. After the modernisation the above- mentioned technological solutions will be complemented by novelties such as raised floors, suspended ceilings, high efficiency LED lighting and electric vehicle charging installations. The building will also have an unusually low proportion of communal areas – less than 3 pct. Once fully equipped and refurbished, a BREEAM certificate is to be sought for the building, to confirm its energy efficiency and eco-friendliness.”
To be on the shortlist
The interior of the skyscraper, which is marked out by its characteristic blue glass façade (a feature that is to remain unchanged) will be renovated to fulfil the requirements for a class ‘A’ building. The areas to be refurbished include the lobby and the reception, the lift foyers, the toilets and the offices. A consortium under the management of Delap&Waller, which specialises in sustainable design and consulting, has been entrusted with the architectural design. This group includes such studios as WAW Architekci, KiS Projekt, Protect (fire safety) and MIT Architekci (responsible for the interiors). “This is a unique office building, and one of the reasons for this is its location. Not many new projects are going to be developed in the city centre and none in the direct vicinity of the building. So we will try to put the Moniuszki 1A address on the shortlist of every company looking for a prestigious office location in the central business district. Negotiations have already started with a number of interested parties,” claims Rafał Mateusiak, the president of the management board of NAI Estate Fellows, which is responsible for the commercialisation of the office building in cooperation with CBRE. “The purchase fits the investment strategy of our fund superbly. The building has a very good location and after ul. Świętokrzyska is reconstructed and the second line of the underground is opened, the status of the location will improve even more. The main asset of the project is its cosiness due to the small area of a typical floor – ranging from 450 sqm to 550 sqm,” emphasises Tomasz Doktór, the director of Catalyst Capital’s Warsaw office. The company, which in Poland also manages a number of office buildings in Łódź (app. 25,000 sqm) and a shopping centre in Kielce (13,000 sqm), has similar projects to its credit. One recent example was the modernisation of the Les Ateliers du Parc office building in Paris, which was subsequently leased to such tenants as Amazon and McCann. The renovation of the Warsaw office building, which has 22 above-ground storeys as well as two underground levels, should be completed by the end of Q2 2014. Tenants will be able to use 60 parking spaces, including 41 in an underground car park and 19 at ground-level.
