Skanska wins in Łódź and Kraków

The architectural design is by Medus, while Skanska is the general contractor. The project has been LEED pre-certified with a rating of ‘Gold’. ”Brama Miasta is much more than an office investment – it will be a location in Łódź that, with a patio open to the public, cafés and seasonal activities, will be a place that attracts workers and residents alike’ says Arkadiusz Rudzki the managing director at Skanska Property Poland. The project features an open square, urban cafés, free WiFi, green areas and street furniture for working outdoors and informal business meetings as well as for hosting cultural events. The complex will also provide 230 parking places and stands for 200 bicycles. This will be Skanska’s third project in Łódź following the Nowa Fabryczna and Green Horizon office developments. Hanna Zdanowska, the mayor of Łódź, who was present during the project presentation stressed the importance of private investment for the revitalisation of the city centre. Nowe Centrum Łodzi, a mixed-use project, which includes the redevelopment of the Dworzec Fabryczny railway station and an area of 100 ha of the city centre arose mainly as a result of public investment. “In Poland, there is no other urban space like Nowe Centrum Łodzi and the project continues to attract publicity from around the world. Łódź is often referred to as “the last undiscovered city”. Today, it is not only attracting investors but residents and tourists alike,” she said.

Space for Fujitsu

Skanska’s Nowa Fabryczna project has also attracted another big tenant. Fujitsu is to open a new office in the building with a lease of 6,200 sqm. Fujitsu has operations in Warsaw and in two other locations in Łódź, where it launched its global services centre (Łódź Global Delivery Center – GDC), and financial shared services centre (Finance Services). The financial centre is soon to be relocated from Textorial Park to the new address, while the financial shared services centre will be moved in September 2017. Żaneta Leduchowska, the head of Finance Services Fujitsu, Łódź, commented that: “The new location will be an attractive place to work for our employees. It is a comfortable and modern office that is well-served by road, rail and the city’s public transportation.” “We were the first to recognise the investment and city-forming potential of Nowe Centrum Łodzi. This is confirmed by Nowa Fabryczna, which is another Skanska project to be nearly fully leased before its scheduled delivery to the market. Furthermore, the fact that Łódź is improving its economic position not only in Poland but also in the Central and Eastern Europe region is really impressive. Our work with Fujitsu shows that the city has become a significant operational centre for well-known global business brands,” says Ewelina Kałużna, the leasing and asset management director at Skanska Property Poland. Kraków is yet another successful city for Skanska where Ocado Technology, the IT provider for the Ocado supermarket chain, has leased almost 2,400 sqm in the the High5ive office complex. The tenant, which was advised by Colliers International, is to open its office in March 2018. “Ocado Technology’s Kraków-based department, which was set up in 2012, was the company’s first foreign centre for the development of advanced IT services to support our operations on the British market and around the world,” said Grzegorz Cempla, the general manager of Ocado Technology. Situated near the Kraków Główny railway station, High5ive is the third office project developed by Skanska in Kraków following the Kapelanka 42 and Axis buildings. The first phase of the office park is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2017 with 23,500 sqm of leasable space in two buildings. Eventually the park is to offer 70,000 sqm gla. “We have already leased 20 pct of the space in the two buildings several months before the scheduled delivery of the first phase of High5ive to the market, and we are continuing to negotiate further deals,” said Ewelina Kałużna. The project design is by NS Moon Studio, Skanska is the general contractor, and Skanska Property Poland is responsible for the commercialisation.