POLAND Nine o'clock in the morning as another Saturday begins, it's snowing outside and you are wading through the snow on the streets of Warsaw from one store to another in search of bathroom tiles, a sink or a fireplace. This is a typical nightmare of many residents of the Polish capital. A construction hypermarket would be a good alternative, for example a Praktiker, a Leroy Merlin, a Castorama or... a complex of stores under the name of DomExpo. The first such centre is to be built in Opole. "We are planning to bring all of the construction industry under one roof. Those planning to do up their homes will find everything they need: developers, designers, surveyors, interior designers, and also shops offering doors, tiles, furniture, lighting and more. At the same time we do not want to be an ordinary DIY or construction market. Our goal is to offer innovative solutions and products," explains Artur Braniec, who is in charge of the commercialisation of DomExpo.
Silesia first, then the capital
The concept involves the creation of an exhibition area (with no warehousing) where dozens of companies could offer their wares and services. An area for trade conferences and fairs will also be built. A four-storey building is planned, which will offer 15,000 sqm of leasable space in total, including ?2,500 sqm of conference facilities. DomExpo Opole is to be built in an adapted silo that once served to store grain on a 3 ha plot on ul. Budowlanych in the city. The project has been jointly designed by Wrocław-based Bożena Marszałkiewicz's architectural studio and the Warsaw-based Dwuznak studio owned by Rafał Kolasiński. "Demolition work is currently under way and we are now looking for a general contractor. The start of the construction work is scheduled for autumn, with the grand opening planned for the second quarter of next year," adds Artur Braniec. Investment costs are likely to come to PLN 65 mln. The next project under the name of DomExpo will be carried out in Wrocław, in the revitalised area of Młyn Sułkowice (Sułkowice Windwill) on a 4 ha site on ul. Poprzeczna. "A tender for the architectural design of the exhibition and office centre has already been announced. Exhibition space will be located on the ground and first floors, with offices on the upper floor. In total 40,000 sqm of leasable space will be created, of which 28,000 sqm will be occupied by DomExpo," explains the operator's representative. It is possible that construction will start and the end of this or early next year. The Warsaw project is to be built in the Żerań district of the capital.
Tenant interest grows
Interest from potential customers in the concept is one thing, but first tenants need to be secured. "More than a hundred companies have already signed cooperation agreements regarding the project in Opole, but interest in DomExpo is still growing. This is one consequence of the marketing and the market research that we carried out at recent construction trade fairs. So far no lease agreements have yet been signed, as the commercialisation process gets under way. The rent per sqm will be around PLN 40," explains Artur Braniec. Finding tenants from the interior furnishing and equipment segments is a challenge - a fact highlighted by Marcin Materny, the director of the shopping centre development division of Echo Investment. "One should not forget that such companies cannot be approached like tenants from the fashion and catering sectors, as they will only pay relatively lower rents," explains the representative of Echo Investment. The company is the developer of Dekorada in Galeria Echo in Kielce. On the new floor of the expanded building opened last August, 5,000 sqm of space was created for tenants offering interior design and furnishing services and products. These include Cersanit, Opoczno, Fachowiec, Eurofirany, Flo, Mituu and Dorma. "We chose such a solution as we were confident that we could attract around ?250 tenants for the traditional shopping section, which would in turn attract customers into seeing the other areas of the centre. Another Dekorada will probably open in our Metropolis project in Poznań, which is to be built on ul. Hetmańska in the city. We expect to be issued with a building permit this year," says Marcin Materny.
On the Polish market there are already a number of more-or-less modern projects designed to bring construction retailers and service providers together, such as Gala Dom i Wnętrze in Lublin, TTW Opex in Warsaw and the TopShopping furniture centres (in Gdańsk, Szczecin, Poznań and Łódź). But it seems that the real competitors for DomExpo will be the older, estblished stores. On the other hand, the market is still young, so it should be possible to find a place for everybody.
