POLAND Leroy Merlin, which is consolidating its distribution chain in Poland, has leased 123,300 sqm of space from Panattoni Europe in Piątek near Łódź. The BTS warehouse is to be the largest logistics building in the country, although there have been larger leases that have included space on mezzanine floors such as a 146,000 sqm contract in Gliwice and 135,000 sqm in Sosnowiec, both of which were signed last year. In the case of the Leroy Merlin project it is the actual size on the ground level and this is what will make it the record-holder for the Polish warehouse market.
The warehouse itself will take up 121,212 sqm, while the office and staff facilities will occupy 2,420 sqm. Construction work is scheduled to begin in Q2 this year, and the entire development is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2019. The site will also include a 10,000 sqm roofed area for storing goods that need not be kept indoors, as well as parking facilities for 25 trucks and 150 cars. The warehouse itself will have 160 docks and six ground-level drive-in gates. It is to be BREEAM-certified with a rating of ‘Good’. The lease was brokered by JLL. ”To guarantee the highest level of service and the availability of our goods for our customers, we have decided to consolidate our distribution chain. Such a move will give us greater flexibility in managing stock for the goods that we offer in our stores. We will combine various distribution channels under one roof, such as: x-dock, stock and direct deliveries from the warehouse to the customer. Our e-commerce service will also be moved from Stryków to the new location in Piątek to develop the range of goods and services we offer our customers. The development of a central logistics centre is a must in today’s market and Leroy Merlin Polska understands this perfectly,” claims Krzysztof Niciejewski, a senior logistics manager at Leroy Merlin Polska. This is the third development by Panattoni Europe for Leroy Merlin after two warehouses that it delivered in Stryków. One of them, was also the largest logistics centre in the country when it was built in 2008 with an area of 56,000 sqm. Panattoni Europe has also completed the construction of a 79,000 sqm BTS warehouse centre on ul. Jędrzejowska in Łódź, for BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego as the first section of the Central European Logistics Hub. The building includes 1,700 sqm of office and social space. The project has two railway sidings with three stop tracks – two outside and one inside the building with a 590m railway platform. The centre also includes a special ramp system, LED lighting, as well as additional skylights and façade windows, to maximise access to natural light. “BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego has been in the Łódź area for many years. Thanks to the excellent location in the centre of Poland, very good cooperation with municipal authorities and high-quality specialists, our company has been growing steadily,” says Konrad Pokutycki, the president of the management board of BSH in Poland. “It is BSH that is the first tenant at this location. Already in June, another company will be moving into a new 70,000 sqm centre for handling its own online sales” says Marek Dobrzycki, the managing director of Panattoni Europe. The Central European Logistics Hub is now made up of three buildings, totalling 175,000 sqm, but in future Poland’s largest logistics complex by Panattoni Europe will comprise as much as 300,000 sqm of modern warehouse space.
BTO for GLS Poland
Panattoni Europe has also completed the construction of a parcel distribution centre for courier company GLS Poland in Janki near Warsaw. The BTO (build-to-own) and BTS (build-to-suit) project with 7,600 sqm of space is both the 33rd and the largest Polish logistics centre of GLS in the country. It comprises a 6,600 sqm hall with 160 courier gates and 16 unloading gates, equipped with fast-sorting equipment, as well as 1,000 sqm of office space. The centre also includes 20,000 sqm of service yards, roads and parking facilities. “It is a great honour for us to be able to develop the biggest courier delivery distribution centre for GLS Poland – from finding the right site for the development, to following through with all the legal and administrative procedures, supervising the construction, accepting the completed centre and handing it over to the client,” says Marek Dobrzycki. This is the company’s first project for GLS in Poland. The cemtre took nine months to build. In keeping with the GLS Poland – ThinkGreen initiative, the depot has been equipped with state-of-the-art environmentally friendly technology. Solar panels were installed on the roof and will heat water for the staff facilities. In additon to this new tenants have come to some other Panattoni projects, including Bel-Pol, a Polish distributor of doors and floors, which has leased over 4,000 sqm in Panattoni Park Gliwice III on ul. Bojkowska in Gliwice, 3 km from the Gliwice - Sośnica junction where the A1, the A4 and national road 44 intersect. Almost 3,800 sqm is warehouse space with the remaining space to be used for offices. “Due to the development of the Gliwice department, the warehouse space Bel-Pol previously occupied was no longer sufficient and we were asked for support in finding a new site. The tenant’s specific requirements , which result from the specific type of goods stored, narrowed the search for facilities to those with adequate fire protection and a sufficient floor loading capacity. In the end, the client chose, Panattoni Park Gliwice III,” said Robert Kowalkowski, an associate at BSC Real Estate Advisors, who advised the tenant.
