Orpea to dominate care home market?

Rezydencja Antonina is a 5,600 sqm project at the junction of ul. Gerbera and ul. Czajewicza in Piaseczno. It will contain single and double rooms for 144 people.

“We know how important contact with family members and friends is for those we care for , which is why the complex has convenient access to public transport and a large underground car park. A recreational garden and common spaces will also be provided, including a day-care room, a library and a ‘room of memories’. As with all our centres, Antonina will be a house with a high standard of finishing without any architectural barriers,” explains Beata Leszczyńska, the CEO of Orpea Polska.

Rezydencja Antonina will comprise a nursing home, an Alzheimer’s ward, a ward for those in a vegetative state and a rehabilitation room. The first few seniors citizens are to move in this summer.

“The family model is changing in Poland, especially in the larger cities – the multi-generational model has now become rather rare. Most elderly people prefer to spend time with their peers than with younger family members, who they can no longer keep up with. The average age of our residents is 75, most of whom are still active but prefer calmer types of activity – which our centres are designed to provide,” insists Beata Leszczyńska.

In Poznań, Orpea will soon begin the construction of the largest elderly care home in Poland. In January 2017, the company bought a 1 ha plot – formerly the site of a hospital – from the city between ​​ul. Szkolna, ul. Kozia and ul. Podgórna, next to the old town square. A complex for 400 people is to be built, which will comprise several modules: a residence, two buildings with apartments for seniors needing medical support, a clinic and a day visit room. The project is being carried out in a heritage zone where archaeological work is now almost finished. The opening of the complex has been scheduled for the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Orpea’s development model involves the independent management of the entire investment process – from the selection of the plot to its use (the company does not sell its real estate). It assumes a short investment cycle – obtaining the building permit within a maximum of twelve months from the purchase of the property. A typical Orpea Rezydencja nursing home comprises around 6,000–8,000 sqm with road infrastructure, car parks and therapeutic green areas. New projects are being carried out on plots ranging from ​​0.4 ha to 2 ha. Usually there are around 100 rooms with nursing, medical and rehabilitation amenities. The projects are initially financed with a shareholder loan. When the exact costs of the project become clear and the contract with the general contractor is signed, the investor then employs bank refinancing.

Orpea entered Poland in 2016 by taking over care home developer Medi-System. In Poland, the company offers more than 1,100 places in nursing homes and rehabilitation clinics – in Masovia, Chorzów and Wrocław. New centres are to be built in the next few years: three elderly care homes in Masovia and one each in Kraków and Wrocław as well as homes in Poznań and Gdańsk and a rehabilitation clinic in Warsaw. These projects will add 1,600 beds and 90,000 sqm of completed space to the company’s Polish portfolio. The company, which was founded in 1989, currently has almost 94,000 places in more than 930 branches in twelve European countries, as well as in Brazil, China, Chile and Uruguay.


Rezydencja Antonina will have a rehabiltation room