When the final curtain comes down

In September 1999, ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ was the first film to be screened in Multikino Ursynów, Warsaw’s first modern multiplex and the second such cinema to be constructed in the country. The first cinema of this type, Multikino Poznań 51, opened just a year earlier in Poznań. Strangely, after a quarter of a century, both cinemas now face the same fate: they have been sold off for redevelopment. Multikino Ursynów closed its doors on August 18th. It’s not yet known when Multikino Poznań 51 is going to close, but it should remain open at least until the end of the first quarter of 2025.

It appears that these sell-offs by Multikino are mainly being done to settle debts, but the company has no intention of any further disposals. Other cinema chains, such as Helios and Cinema City, also operate a number of free-standing multiplex cinemas, but despite the well-established trend for multiplexes to open in shopping centres, both companies deny any intention of selling off any others. Last year, the Cinema City press office was quoted by daily newspaper ‘Rzeczpospolita’ as saying: “We have no plans to close down any cinemas in our chain. We continue to look for ways to improve our cinemas, such as our recent renovation of Cinema City Korona in Wrocław.” Tomasz Jagiełło, the CEO of Helios, later told the same publication: “Multiscreen cinemas became common when it turned out that the best approach was to quickly build up a chain of multiplexes. After that, no one ever went back to the idea of building free-standing cinemas. But now it requires a much smaller investment to open a cinema in a mall. I’d estimate it to be around three times less.” He too declares that he has no intention of closing down any of his cinemas.

Nonetheless, as we all know, you can’t just knock down a cinema and build yourself a housing estate, so it should come as little surprise that the price of the land on which Multikino Ursynów stands rose dramatically in June 2021 with the passing of a new spatial plan for the area. At the time of the sale, Multikino admitted that “the value of the sale significantly exceeded that of the projected operating revenues for the next few years.” The buyer turned out to be Belgian developer GH Development, which also admits that changing the land’s usage will be challenging. “It should be emphasised that the reconstruction or demolition of a building entails more documentation than in the case of simply purchasing a vacant plot, as well as obtaining additional permits, such as those related to changing the land use and adjusting the project to current spatial development requirements. All of this translates into a longer time being needed to prepare the project for development than in the case of an undeveloped plot,” says Agnieszka Jóżwiak, the head of residential development at GH Development. She goes on to add that “we plan to build an open residential estate with green space. It will be a mixed-use development. The residential section will be complemented with service, commercial and recreational areas. Our main idea is to create a publicly accessible development, with commercial space attractively adapted to the needs of the estate’s residents and the people of the surrounding area. We are currently preparing detailed materials on our investment concept. We have already been granted demolition approval and have submitted an application for a building permit. We are planning the start of the demolition work for the autumn of this year. The exact timing will be known when all the tenants have vacated the building and once we have selected a partner to carry out the demolition.” GH Development is also likely to have new neighbours. Once upon a time, the plot directly behind Multikino Ursynów had been earmarked for a mall, but although construction work did begin on the Fortepian shopping centre, it was never completed. Now this land has been auctioned off by the city and purchased by a relatively unknown developer – Munja B14, a subsidiary of Monting Development, which paid PLN 82.2 mln for the plot, more than twice the asking price of PLN 40 mln. The city seems well pleased with this windfall and around 70 pct of the proceeds have gone into Ursynów district’s coffers to be earmarked for projects that include school and playground renovations. The second highest bid was made by Dom Development. There have been rumours of a new multiplex to be developed in Ursynów as a replacement for Multikino, but at present this idea has come to nothing, although talks have taken place between Helios and Echo Investment to open a cinema in the local Kabaty sub-district.

Area 51

Multikino Poznań 51, on the other hand, has been sold to Develia. This developer has also not skimped on paying for such a site, coughing up a total of PLN 57 mln. Karol Dzięcioł, the business development advisor of Develia, explains the purchase thusly: “Both the plot at ul. Królowej Jadwigi 51 in Poznań where Multikino 51 stands, which was purchased by us at the end of 2023, as well as the Multikino Ursynów site purchased by GH Development, stand out due to their extremely attractive locations. In both cases, the urban spatial plan allows for the development of apartments. These types of plots are nonetheless a rarity because most multiplexes now operate in malls. We want to fully exploit the potential of this superb location in the very centre of Poznań, close to the Stary Browar centre as well as numerous parks and green areas, and so we are planning to develop over 350 apartments with a number of service outlets on the land we purchased. Right now, we are concentrating on the design work and obtaining the necessary administrative permits. The project is being developed in strict accordance with the spatial plans and we are aiming to start sales for the first stage of the project by the beginning of 2025.”

Relax, don’t do it

The fate of the former Kino Relax cinema in the very centre of Warsaw, however, is almost a saga in itself. The cinema had its last screening in October 2006, after which it was sold to the Alma delicatessen chain. A 185m tower was planned, but this scheme was not to the liking of the city and was blocked. Alma later went bankrupt in 2016 and the former cinema changed hands. The new owner, Relax Centrum, also had ambitions for the site – this time for a ten storey-residential block with a theatre on the ground floor. But this time the plan was thwarted by the building conservator, who in 2019 registered the building as a monument. However, this decision was overturned in 2023, at which point the building conservator immediately began proceedings to reclassify the cinema as a listed building. The eventual fate of Kino Relax remains mired in lengthy court proceedings. The building, which is in a clear state of disrepair, is now leased to the Relax Scena theatre company, but all attempts to sell it have failed. At first an auction was held in December 2021, but the results were voided after complaints were made by the bidders over the rules. Another auction was held in October 2023 at which the price reached over PLN 20 mln, but the buyer continually put off signing the final sales document and the agreement was eventually invalidated. And so, the former cinema building remains in the limbo of receivership. The receiver, Małgorzata Jarosińska of the Jarosiński.com law office, explains the situation in this way: “The building has been put up for sale twice, unfortunately without success. The latest proceedings did not ultimately result in the signing of a contract. Therefore, it is necessary that a new buyer is found. This time a request for a decision over the further steps to be taken has been sent to the creditor, but at this moment no decision has been made. Some time ago, the building was taken off the district register of monuments however it still remains on the listed buildings’ register. The case has made its way to the ministry with a request that a decision should soon be taken to rethink the grounds for the listing. Proceedings in this matter are still underway. I hope a decision will soon be taken and that this will result in the creditor giving us the green light for another auction.” She then goes on to add: “As long as we do not know who the buyer is, it is difficult to talk about what the fate of the building will be or what will happen to the tenant after the sale. What is important is that regardless of what the buyer decides, the tenant has a guaranteed right to complete its season and stick to its current schedule.”

The show must go on

Heading back to Poznań, the fate of one other former cinema should be considered. This time it is the Olimpia, which closed its doors for the last time in 2004. And now, twenty years later, a decision has finally been made over what to do with the site. The property is now owned by Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, while Warsaw architectural studio WXCA won an architectural competition organised by SARP Poznań for the redevelopment of the site. The new centre is to include an opera and theatre hall with 400 seats, a playhouse and performance stage, a chamber hall with 100 seats, an ambisonic hall with 50 seats, recording studios as well as dance studios. According to WXCA: “The aim is to create a connection between the city’s past and its modern-day spirit and contemporary needs. We aimed to integrate the centre with its 19th-century urban context and to create new architectural value at the same time. For this reason, we proposed a modern, sculptural structure that we consider in some ways timeless. The structure follows the street’s historic alignment, while breaking down its mass into smaller functional blocks of varying heights, creating a dynamic composition. The gaps between these blocks interact with the surrounding environment, inviting people inside. Transitioning from a compact arrangement at the city’s core to a more open composition, the boundary between interior and exterior is blurred, emphasising the building’s public utility. The dominant composition at the street intersection acts as a spatial marker, asserting the institution’s presence in the city. The scale of the individual blocks references the adjacent 19th-century buildings, while their restrained expression is achieved through a geometric simplicity and rhythmic façade articulation reminiscent of traditional urban townhouses. We also proposed niches and openings at different levels, integrating the academy with its surroundings. In our concept, the green roof will become a serene meeting place for both students and staff, offering a welcoming retreat. The glass canopies and green plaza will encourage people to watch the daily life of the institution, where evenings will be dedicated to cultural events for the local community. Therefore, the building will fully embody its role as a public asset that is open to the city.”