POLAND Ghelamco has laid out its immediate plans and has announced it is negotiating the sale of the three towers of the Warsaw Hub development. The company estimates the market value of the property to be more than EUR 270 mln. The plans for the sale were mentioned in the recently approved prospectus for a PLN 350 mln bond issue. The project, is to be completed by the end of Q2 of this year. It consists of two office skyscrapers and one hotel tower with a total of 117,000 sqm. On publication of the bond issue prospectus, 93,500 sqm had already been leased. This is not the only development it is selling as it has also announced that it is negotiating the sale of its office development at ul Wołoska24, which has an estimated market value of EUR 56 mln
Of towers and apartments
The company is also soon to hand over the luxury apartments of its Foksal project in Warsaw. This project should bring the developer around EUR 34 mln. Additionally Ghelamco has sold 66 pct of the apartments in its Flisac project in Warsaw’s Powiśle district. The building was constructed with a loan from Mbank Hipoteczny worth PLN 74.2 mln, and includes around 5,700 sqm with 980 sqm of retail on the ground floor. Currently Ghelamco is also constructing its Warsaw Unit skyscraper with a height of over 200m and a gla of 59,000 sqm. The anchor tenant is insurance company Warta with a lease of 20,000 sqm. The project is valued in the prospectus at EUR 77.6 mln with EUR 135.9 mln in financing. The developer’s design (by Andrew Bromberg) for a building at pl. Grzybowski was not approved by Warsaw’s city authorities, yet the developer believes it will still eventually be possible to apply for a building permit for a 35,000 sqm office tower with a height of around 95m and work could start by the end of the year.
On the starting blocks
Ghelamco has also been planning to develop Warsaw’s pl. Zawiszy square. The project has the working title of Sobieski Tower and should eventually comprise around 45,000 sqm gla. A land development conditions decision should be issued by mid-year, however the 39,000 sqm Bellona tower is much closer to the launch of construction work. The prospectus states that “the project will fit in with the architecture of the surrounding office buildings. The Bellona Tower will be an extension to the existing Bellona building.” The building permit was applied for in December 2019. Wola Projekt in Warsaw will eventually comprise 38,000 sqm gla. The building permit was applied for on January 20th 2020. Ghelamco is also to construct 800 apartments in its Żerański Port project in Warsaw’s Białołęka district, which should eventually have a useable area of 40,0000 sqm.
Slow on the railway
Due to a lack of official approvals Ghelamco’s joint project with PKP [Polish State Railways] to redevelop the Warszawa Gdańska railway station is currently on hold. The developer writes that the investment contract remains in force and Ghelamco believes that the project will at some stage still go ahead. “PKP is to submit an application to the Minister of Infrastructure for the approval of the handover of the property by PKP in 2020. As a result provided that the real estate handover takes place as planned, work on the first phase of the project should start in 2021.” The new station would be built on a 10 ha site with a complex of office buildings, public space, and possibly a residential estate.
In Kraków, a nine-storey, 23,700 sqm office building called Kreo is under construction on ul. Wadowicka and in Katowice Ghelamco is to develop the Katowice Office Park. Around 26,000 sqm of office space is being developed. The local zoning plan has been approved and a building permit application is being prepared. Ghelamco is also planning an 8 ha project in Łódź called Nowe Soho with office, hotel, retail and residential space with work to begin sometime this year.
