Inso again contracted for Złota 44

Inso was the previous general contractor of Złota 44 under the previous owner, Orco. According to the contract, the restart of the construction and finishing work is planned for February 2015. “The agreement is part of the process to bring the Złota 44 project back to life” said Michał Skotnicki, the president of BBI Development. “I am glad the work will be continued by the same construction company, the company that already knows the project perfectly and has guaranteed to finish the work on time” he added. Jeff Stonger, the vice-president of Amstar, added that “employing Inso again was an obvious decision for us. For us it is clear that the problems that occurred earlier in the project had never been connected to the quality of work provided by the general contractor.” The agreement between the owners and the general contractor also involves the setting of the financial dispute that arose leading to the halting of the project. Inso was removed from the construction site of Złota 44 by the previous owner, Orco, at the end of 2013. The construction company claimed that it had been the party that ended up financing the construction work and had spent around EUR 20 mln on the project. Moreover, Michał Skotnicki of BBI admitted in an interview with ‘Eurobuild CEE’ in October 2014 that relations with the general contractor still had to be ironed out. Now the project is scheduled for completion in the middle of 2016.

BBI recently revealed that the first stage of the resumed construction work will involve the replacement of the façade of the building. “The façade is better than the original, which was entirely made of glass,’ said Rafał Szczepański. “This enables us to design good apartments. In addition, it will not look like an office building, but provides additional warmth and does not cause any discomfort,” explained Rafał Szczepański, while approaching one of the walls and leaning against an element joining the window and wall. “Many people would not be able to approach the wall if it was entirely made of glass. Particularly on the 50th floor, where the walls widen upwards and it is possible to look straight down,” he added.

The apartments in the building in Poland are to go on sale in March 2015. For the relaunch of the sales, the new owners BBI Development and Amstar, together with consultancy Reas, have analysed the structure of the demand for luxury apartments in Warsaw. The conclusion was that the apartments should be adjusted for families with children, because it is couples in the 40-49 age-group who buy such apartments most often, according to Reas’ analysis. A mini-nursery school therefore is also to be opened in the tower. “The eighth floor, which has an area of 1,400 sqm including a terrace, will become a fun and leisure area,” explained Rafał Szczepański, the vice-president of BBI Development. “It will include a full-sized swimming pool, saunas, a small nursery school, a bar, a cinema room and a conference room – all of which will be available to the residents,” he added. The prices of the apartments are still under review. “They will certainly be at the top end of the market, but will not surpass this level, since this is a bad strategy,” claimed Rafał Szczepański. Karol Dzięcioł of Reas, who is responsible for the market analysis, explained that prices of the luxury apartments completed over the last 24 months ranged from a gross amount of PLN 18,000 to over PLN 60,000 per sqm for the seven most luxurious and residential projects in Warsaw, including the nearby Cosmopolitan building. The analysis covered over 200 transactions or 80 pct of the market. “According to the analysis we don’t have a lot of competition. There are only a few genuine luxury projects: a few multi-family buildings, one skyscraper and a few tenement buildings. However, some renovated tenements do not fulfil the luxury criteria due to their obvious limitations,” emphasised the vice-president of BBI.