POLAND Construction work has begun on the Face2Face Business Campus, which is being developed by Echo Investment at the intersection of ul. Grundmanna and ul. Chorzowska in Katowice. “We have started preliminary construction work on the first building, which means we are reinforcing the foundations and doing the water-proofing. We are planning to finish the construction work in the fourth quarter of next year,” says Paweł Szarpak, the project manager responsible for the project.
The first building of the two-building complex will have seven storeys with almost 21,000 sqm of space. “We are creating a comfortable workplace, but at the same time we want to provide employees with something more: common spaces, outdoor restaurants, leisure areas and space for co-working. Face2Face will not only be functional, but also motivating and will encourage people to be creative. In addition, we are also going to set up some pop-up space here where events and services organised by the tenants and their employees may be held,” says Joanna Nicińska a regional director in Echo’s office department. The design is by Grupa 5 Architekci and Biuro Projektowe Małeccy will be responsible for the creative space between the two buildings. M&JBUD is the general contractor for the first stage. The building has been designed to comply with BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards.
Echo also busy in Warsaw
Echo Investment has also started the construction of Villa Offices, the second office building in its Browary Warszawskie development in Warsaw. This will be the tallest commercial building (14 storeys) in the complex. It will be located on the newly-opened ul. Haberbusch and ul. Schiele streets. The name of the streets were chosen by local residents in a summer opinion poll. The start of the construction work comes a few weeks after Echo Investment topped out the Gatehouse Offices, the first office building of the project. “The construction work on the elevation and finishing of the Gatehouse Offices is in progress, because at the beginning of 2019 the first employees will be moving in. At the end of the year, the first residential building will also be ready. Having effectively leased the entire first office building has allowed us to start on Villa Offices, on which we have started the construction of the diaphragm walls. The tenants will be able to move into the second building in 2020,” claims Michał Gerwat, the director of the Browary Warszawskie project at Echo Investment. Leases have already been signed and include software developer Epam, which is to move its Warsaw headquarters to the Browary Warszawskie complex in the Wola district. The tenant will occupy 2,254 sqm on the three top floors of the Biura przy Bramie (Gatehouse Offices) building, which is being constructed at the junction of ul. Grzybowska and Wronia. “Our current headquarters is also in Wola, so we know the advantages of this location. We have considered our move from the point of view of our employees with their needs and expectations,” says Michał Krzepkowski, the senior administrative manager at Epam Poland. With this latest contract, the building is now fully leased with L'Oréal Polska and WeWork being the two other tenants. Biura przy Bramie will comprise over 14,000 sqm of office space and services space. Along with an underground car park for 106 vehicles, it will also have 82 spaces for bicycles. In May the building was topped off. ν
