Busy BBI

They have also chosen a general contractor for the ground-level part of the project - Warbud, which is to be paid EUR 49.8 mln for its work. The three-building complex, the construction of which started at the end of 2010, is a joint enterprise of the BBI Development NFI fund and Liebrecht & Wood. Its anchor tenants are three companies from ING Group: ING Bank Śląski, ING Securities and ING Lease, which are to occupy eleven floors (including the top ten floors of this 90m tower, now to be known as ING Tower) for ten years. "Securing such a tenant," explains one expert, "even with a discount in the form of rent holidays and interior design, for example, which is common in the case of such significant transactions, represents a great success. The divergence between starting rent rates and effective ones is currently quite big, so there must have been a difference of between a probable starting rate of EUR 20 per sqm and around EUR 15 - the effective rate. Even though last year's leasing figures were very good, there is still not enough data to be able to say whether this year will also be successful. Therefore securing the anchor tenant, which is necessary in order to obtain financing for the development of the facility, was a very good move." The transaction will probably be one of the biggest this year. For comparison the biggest contracts last year included Telekomunikacja Polska leasing 43,700 sqm (a pre-lease contract) in Miasteczko Orange, Ernst & Young re- negotiating a contract for 11,000 sqm in Rondo 1, a contract for the pre-lease of 9,100 sqm in Senator signed by PKN Orlen and a lease signed by Nordea, which is to occupy app. 7,000 sqm in Green Corner.
Thanks to this transaction, the office section (41,000 sqm) of the complex is app. 30 pct leased. Galeria Miejska, its retail section, will have an area of 15,500 sqm, and has two tenants that the investor is happy to reveal. One is a branch of ING Bank and the other is the Supersam supermarket chain (the project on pl. Unii Lubelskiej is being developed on the site of the former Supersam built in the 1960s). "There is a lot of interest in leasing the space, but I cannot disclose the names of the other companies we have concluded contracts with at this point," declares Michał Skotnicki, president of the management board of BBI Development NFI.

Koneser in Praga district
The financing of the project is being provided by Pekao bank with a loan of EUR 105 mln, which could be increased to EUR 120 mln. BBI Development NFI is currently negotiating with the same financial partner the conditions of a loan to construct the first residential projects in the grounds of the former Koneser vodka factory. At present the first 1,200 sqm office facility in the distillery in Warsaw's Praga district is complete. "We are also waiting for a permit to develop 1,500 sqm of lofts in one of the buildings, a former mint, as well as our first soft lofts project. The newly-erected building will be in a post-industrial style and will have a residential area of app. 5,000 sqm. I hope that obtaining the permits will take place in the next few months," explains Michał Skotnicki. In the first half of next year the investor is to start the construction of the central quarter - office buildings with an area of app. 20,000 sqm and app. 20,000 sqm of retail in several buildings. Eventually, Koneser will be a useable area of 70,000 sqm.

Faith in skyscrapers
The list of BBI Development's planned projects also includes a 160m skyscraper to be built on a plot looked down upon from the company president's office window. A 55,000-60,000 sqm office building is to be developed at the junction of ul. Emilii Plater and ul. Nowogrodzka in a joint enterprise with the Archdiocese of Warsaw and the Parish of St Barbara, according to an initial concept by Juvenes-Projekt, a subsidiary of the investor. Negotiationsare still taking place with the city council.
The market is also buzzing about BBI Development's hopes of buying a plot on the other side of the road, where the Hoffmanowa high school currently stands. The city is considering selling the site to allow two 200m high tower blocks to be built. The fund is also waiting for planning permission to be issued for the Sezam office building, which could be built at the junction of ul. Świętokrzyska and ul. Marszałkowska at the intersection of two metro lines in the city centre. "We are waiting for the city's decision in this case. Procedures are progressing smoothly," insists Michał Skotnicki. This 13,000 sqm project is another joint enterprise, this time with WSS Społem Śródmieście. Pasaż Simonsa in Muranów district, however, is still at the planning stage. This six-storey project on ul. Długa and ul. Bohaterów Getta would offer luxury flats and office and service areas. Its design would allude to the unique Pasaż Simonsa building, which stood on the site before WWII. BBI Development NFI is hoping to swap the land with the city in exchange for the former Wars cinema in the Old Town.