Distilling Koneser

Investment costs for the development are estimated at app. PLN 700 mln (EUR 165 mln). Liebrecht & Wood and BBI Development, the developers of the project, have commissioned Erbud to build the underground section of the commercial phase of the project and the structure of the ‘J’ building. According to the PLN 41.8 mln net (EUR 9.9 mln) contract, Erbud is to build the structure and the underground floors of the entire commercial section of the ‘J’ building, i.e. levels -3 to 0, including an underground car park for app. 1,000 vehicles as well as connected infrastructure. The ‘J’ building is listed as a protected building. The key subcontractor of the work will be Soletanche Polska.

Vibrant vision

The project is located on the site of the former Koneser vodka factory. The first few buildings of the residential section of the enterprise have already been built. Koneser will include 25,500 sqm of offices and 20,000 sqm of retail and service space, app. 30 pct of which is to be taken up by restaurants, cafés and bars. The retail sections will be located on the ground floor of the new and revitalised buildings. A conference centre with a useable area of app. 800 sqm is also planned, which is to be built near the filtration building. A 140-room hotel is also to open, facing onto ul. Ząbkowska. “We are currently negotiating with two popular brands for the choice of the operator,” reveals Marc Lebbe, the managing director of Liebrecht & Wood. “We want to create a thriving city quarter teeming with life – a lifestyle centre. The chance this project represents is unique because we are working with the historic fibre of the district, which will contribute to its unique atmosphere after the renovations,” claims the director of Liebrecht & Wood. “This is also recognised by the tenants we are negotiating with, particularly those from the creative and IT sectors, Google being one of them,” he says. The developer is aiming for rents of about EUR 14–15 per sqm of office space per month and there are already a few interested parties. Campus Warsaw, the first entrepreneurship centre in Central and Eastern Europe created by American internet giant Google, which has leased an area of 1,600 sqm, is to start operating from the complex in November. According to Marc Lebbe, letters of intent have already been signed with other tenants. “These include a fitness studio and a medical centre, while negotiations are to be started with other parties. I am convinced that we will lease the entire area by the time the project is completed,” insists Marc Lebbe.

A little something to eat

Centrum Praskie Koneser’s broad catering and cultural offer is to be the distinguishing feature of Centrum Praskie Koneser. It will feature a fresh market with an area of app. 900 sqm, offering ecological food to complement the restaurants and bars. Koneser will also include the first Museum of Polish Vodka in the world, which is to occupy an area of 3,300 sqm in the ‘K’ building. Designers from the Juvenes architectural studio have also been employed for the open areas and designed three squares.

Apart from the commercial section, Koneser will also include a few residential buildings. “More than 90 pct of the apartments built so far have already been bought, so we are planning to launch the construction of the treasury house building [Skarbnica] in Q1 2016, which will include app. 100 more apartments (a residential and useable area of 9,000 sqm),” explains Michał Skotnicki, the president of BBI Development. “The current average price per sqm of an apartment in Koneser exceeds PLN 9,000 per sqm. In the next section we want to sell at an average price of over PLN 10,000 per sqm,“ he adds. However, this will not be the last of the residential construction in the complex. The frontage of ul. Nieporęcka still needs to be developed. “We want to build the first few apartments there in a year or a year and a half,” announces the president of BBI.

Centrum Praskie Koneser is being developed between ul. Ząbkowska, ul. Markowska, ul. Białostocka and ul. Nieporęcka in Praga-Północ district. A fund owned by BBI purchased the app. 5 ha site in a tender in 2006 for PLN 60.5 mln. The initial work on Koneser started in 2010. A total of 77,300 sqm of mixed-used space in 20 buildings (including in nine renovated buildings) is eventually to be available in the former vodka distillery. The completion of the entire project is expected at the end of Q3 or early Q4 2017.