Archipel to start water park construction
Archipel, the Belgium-based developer of indoor leisure centers, plans to start construction next month of its $26 million water park in the southern town of Ogrodzieniec.
The water park, called Jurajski Park Wodny, will be the company's first project here, said Bert de Neve, general manager for Archipel's East European operations.
De Neve said the company chose the medieval castle town of Ogrodzieniec as the site for the project because it's close to three large cities: Krakow, Katowice and Czestochowa. He said millions of people live within a 100-kilometer radius.
"This is a holiday destination for 6 million people," de Neve said. "If you operate it (the aqua park) well, it's sure to be a success."
Archipel's first water park venture, with partner Wielkopolskie Towarzystwo Inwestycyjne, failed to get off the ground last year. The project, which was to go ahead in Tarnowo Podgorne near Poznan, was called off because of last-minute problems with the owners of the land.
Archipel's partner for its latest project is the Ogrodzieniec municipality, which is providing 26 hectares of land, and Interfinn, a local architecture and construction company. The Belgian company will hold a minority stake in the project.
De Neve said the project had already secured financing from local banks. "It's a great project for Ogrodzieniec. People are very excited about it," he said. "Construction of the aqua park will start in September and will be completed by the end of next year." The water park will have a capacity of 350 people an hour, less than that of other water parks the company operates in Western Europe.
The project will eventually cover 9,600 square meters. About 2,600 square meters of this will be the water park itself, while a hotel with 110 rooms will cover the remaining 7,000 square meters. The project will also eventually include 350 holiday homes at 65-70 square meters each.
Archipel plans to develop a chain of such leisure complexes in Poland. The company has been working on ventures in Szczecin and is looking for a site in the Poznan area, de Neve said.
German developer sees
residential possibilities
German developer Viterra Baupartner plans to build 2,000 apartments in Poland within the next five years, the company said at a recent topping-out ceremony.
"We see enormous potential in Poland," said Viterra President Harry Langer in a statement issued at the ceremony to mark the developer's first Polish project. The Bochum-based firm claims to be the biggest real estate firm in Germany.
Viterra estimates a demand for 60,000-70,000 apartments in Warsaw and 3.5 million in the rest of the country.
Established earlier this year after a merger of the Veba and Viag property firms, the company chose to locate its first Polish project two three-story buildings containing 16 apartments on a 3,800 square-meter site on ulica Syta in Wilanow.
"Most customers in Warsaw look for apartments in buildings of a high standard and a maximum of five stories," Langer said in the statement.
Viterra plans to charge zl. 4,600-zl. 5,000 per square meter of apartment in the project, which is called Villa Wilanow. The apartments will be 81-116 square meters, which puts the price of the smallest dwelling at about zl. 372,600.
Viterra plans to complete Villa Wilanow by the end of this November. The company wants to locate its next development in the western Warsaw gmina of Ursus, the company said, where it plans to build 230 apartments on a 1.3 hectare site by the end of 2002.
GTC to develop airport
business park
Globe Trade Centre (GTC), a local developer, is planning to build a 51,000-square-meter business park on land close to Warsaw's Okecie airport.
GTC signed a contract earlier this month with LOT Polish Airlines to buy about 3.3 hectares of land worth $5.2 million or $157 per square meter. GTC also signed an option to buy two additional sites covering 7,200 square meters adjacent to the development. "Land next to airports is always in demand everywhere in the world," said Zygmunt Chyla, the marketing director of GTC.
The business park project, to be called Okecie Business Park, will be built in stages. The first phase, which would include an office complex covering 10,000 square meters, is expected to start next year and be completed in 2002, Chyla said.
GTC has applied for development permits and will choose the construction company once it's been granted building rights, he said. He said the company has yet to approach any real estate agencies to market the project.
Land close to Okecie airport has so far attracted little development because of complicated ownership questions. The Okecie Business Park is the largest commercial project to be built in the area so far.
In brief:
Nestle has signed a deal to lease 2,000 square meters of space in University Business Center II (UBC II), which is to be completed in the first quarter of 2001, according to Celtic Asset Management, which represents Swedeprop, the Netherlands-based developer. Nestle already occupies 4,500 square meters of space in University Business Center I, the first phase of the project. The contract with Nestle follows a deal signed earlier this month with Wizja TV, the local cable channel owned by Polska Telewizja Kablowa, to lease 7,000 square meters. Following the two signings, 75% of the space in the 19,000 square-meter UBC II building will already have been leased.
