Daewoo plans to "top out" 42-story building, but won't move in
But while the building was originally intended to serve as a headquarters for the Korean conglomerate's many operations in Poland and potentially even those in Europe, now Daewoo will only take up about 15% of the space and lease out the rest.
"The project is strong enough to go on the market," said Ben Bannatyne, an agent with Jones Lang Wootton (JLW). "It's purely a commercial building."
Daewoo confirmed the plans. "They (JLW) want to maximize use for tenants, we want to follow their professional advice," said Ji Woo Jang, project director for the building.
The building will have 35,000 square meters of office space, of which Daewoo will take up only 5,000, Bannatyne said. It will be open to tenants by November 1999, he said.
JLW will launch a full marketing campaign for the building after the topping out party toward the end of November, he said. Developers often have parties, called "topping out" ceremonies, to celebrate when the final floor of a building is put on. In Poland, the parties often include offering alcohol to construction workers and staff, but Daewoo may buck the trend, executives with the company said.
Last week Daewoo and Bovis Polska, a project manager for the building, were discussing whether to serve alcohol to the expected 300 workers who will attend the party. Marian Paradowski, a site manager with Bovis, said the decision right now is 99% in favor of banning alcohol.
"It will be a shock and a disappointment for the workers, but I fully support it," he said.
Free-flowing alcohol caused a ruckus when the Warsaw Financial Center - which is not a Daewoo property - had its topping out ceremony in May. Construction workers got into two separate brawls at that party. (See WBJ, May 18-24, 1998.)
Daewoo, however, said that the company's concern about alcohol had more to do with the party's location - on the top floor of the building. The company had decided to prohibit alcohol for safety reasons, Jang said. But Daewoo could provide workers with one glass of beer on the ground, he said.
Scrap the pool?
Sheraton Warsaw Hotel & Towers is considering abandoning original plans to build an indoor swimming pool next to its underground fitness center and instead use the 100-square-meter space for extra banquet facilities, sources with the hotel said.
Sheraton, which opened in 1996, plans to make a final decision on the issue in the first quarter of 1999, said Warwick Gunning, sales and marketing director with Sheraton Warsaw.
Sheraton's management had decided earlier this year to scrap the pool, but executives have now decided to rethink the issue.
"It was pretty much approved but then it was put on hold until next year," Gunning said.
The Sheraton boasts 17 conference or banquet rooms with total space of 1,200 square meters that can hold up to 3,000 guests, said Katarzyna Gontarczyk, public relations manager at the Sheraton. But Warsaw is so lacking in modern conference centers that the hotel thinks it will get more use out of expanding its banquet facilities.
"The demand is high, (and) we don't have enough (space)," she said. "We could sell any amount."
The absence of a pool does make the Sheraton stand out among its competitors, however. Both the Marriott and the Bristol have indoor swimming facilities. But Sheraton executives said that for their target audience, conference facilities are more important.
"A pool is not a priority for business people," Gontarczyk said. "We are a hotel for business people, and we want to provide what is most important for them."
In brief:
Warsaw is still at the bottom of the list of top European locations for business but is moving up, according to real estate firm Healey & Baker's most recent European Cities Monitor. Warsaw was ranked 25th on the list of the top 30 cities to locate a business today, which was compiled after the real estate agency interviewed 500 European executives. Warsaw's lack of modern office space, low quality of telecommunications, poor external transport links, pollution and questionable quality of life led to its low ranking.
Warsaw managed only to outpace Budapest, Turin, Oslo, Athens and Moscow on the list, which was topped by London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Warsaw, however, is moving up fast. It rose one position from the same list last year. Moreover, Warsaw is No. 1 in terms of the number of companies that established their presence in the city for the first time during the last five years, the report said. Warsaw was ahead of Prague, Moscow and Budapest.
Also during the next five years many companies want to establish their presence in Warsaw, the report said. Only Moscow is a more attractive location to set up new business during the next five years, the Healey & Baker report said.
"The project is strong enough to go on the market," said Ben Bannatyne, an agent with Jones Lang Wootton (JLW). "It's purely a commercial building."
Daewoo confirmed the plans. "They (JLW) want to maximize use for tenants, we want to follow their professional advice," said Ji Woo Jang, project director for the building.
The building will have 35,000 square meters of office space, of which Daewoo will take up only 5,000, Bannatyne said. It will be open to tenants by November 1999, he said.
JLW will launch a full marketing campaign for the building after the topping out party toward the end of November, he said. Developers often have parties, called "topping out" ceremonies, to celebrate when the final floor of a building is put on. In Poland, the parties often include offering alcohol to construction workers and staff, but Daewoo may buck the trend, executives with the company said.
Last week Daewoo and Bovis Polska, a project manager for the building, were discussing whether to serve alcohol to the expected 300 workers who will attend the party. Marian Paradowski, a site manager with Bovis, said the decision right now is 99% in favor of banning alcohol.
"It will be a shock and a disappointment for the workers, but I fully support it," he said.
Free-flowing alcohol caused a ruckus when the Warsaw Financial Center - which is not a Daewoo property - had its topping out ceremony in May. Construction workers got into two separate brawls at that party. (See WBJ, May 18-24, 1998.)
Daewoo, however, said that the company's concern about alcohol had more to do with the party's location - on the top floor of the building. The company had decided to prohibit alcohol for safety reasons, Jang said. But Daewoo could provide workers with one glass of beer on the ground, he said.
Scrap the pool?
Sheraton Warsaw Hotel & Towers is considering abandoning original plans to build an indoor swimming pool next to its underground fitness center and instead use the 100-square-meter space for extra banquet facilities, sources with the hotel said.
Sheraton, which opened in 1996, plans to make a final decision on the issue in the first quarter of 1999, said Warwick Gunning, sales and marketing director with Sheraton Warsaw.
Sheraton's management had decided earlier this year to scrap the pool, but executives have now decided to rethink the issue.
"It was pretty much approved but then it was put on hold until next year," Gunning said.
The Sheraton boasts 17 conference or banquet rooms with total space of 1,200 square meters that can hold up to 3,000 guests, said Katarzyna Gontarczyk, public relations manager at the Sheraton. But Warsaw is so lacking in modern conference centers that the hotel thinks it will get more use out of expanding its banquet facilities.
"The demand is high, (and) we don't have enough (space)," she said. "We could sell any amount."
The absence of a pool does make the Sheraton stand out among its competitors, however. Both the Marriott and the Bristol have indoor swimming facilities. But Sheraton executives said that for their target audience, conference facilities are more important.
"A pool is not a priority for business people," Gontarczyk said. "We are a hotel for business people, and we want to provide what is most important for them."
In brief:
Warsaw is still at the bottom of the list of top European locations for business but is moving up, according to real estate firm Healey & Baker's most recent European Cities Monitor. Warsaw was ranked 25th on the list of the top 30 cities to locate a business today, which was compiled after the real estate agency interviewed 500 European executives. Warsaw's lack of modern office space, low quality of telecommunications, poor external transport links, pollution and questionable quality of life led to its low ranking.
Warsaw managed only to outpace Budapest, Turin, Oslo, Athens and Moscow on the list, which was topped by London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Warsaw, however, is moving up fast. It rose one position from the same list last year. Moreover, Warsaw is No. 1 in terms of the number of companies that established their presence in the city for the first time during the last five years, the report said. Warsaw was ahead of Prague, Moscow and Budapest.
Also during the next five years many companies want to establish their presence in Warsaw, the report said. Only Moscow is a more attractive location to set up new business during the next five years, the Healey & Baker report said.
