ECE, Orbis to remake Wroclaw square
The two-part project involves demolition of Orbis' existing Hotel Panorama and reconstruction of a new three-star, 140-room hotel nearby, said Ireneusz Weglowski, vice president of development at Orbis SA.
"The existing Panorama Hotel is somewhat technically obsolete," Weglowski said. The total hotel project will run $10 million, he said, financed partly by Orbis funds and partly from the sale to ECE of land under the existing Hotel Panorama.
"We think this is a good way not only to refurbish but to rebuild," Weglowski said. ECE approached Orbis and has been working with it for one year, he said, adding that Orbis will own the new hotel and have a perpetual lease to the site.
ECE is by far the larger investor in the remake, estimating construction costs will run DM 150 million for its 75,000-80,000 square-meter, multi-use complex. Initial blueprints call for a commercial mall and office building with a three-floor, underground garage for more than 1,000 cars.
Commercial space at about 25,000 square meters will dominate the mall and could include space for 100 stores and possibly a department store, said Jan Debski, managing director of ECE Projektmanagement Polska. Office space will run about 2,500 square meters, he said.
The city of Wroclaw awarded ECE Projektmanagement the bid to purchase the land last month. ECE is now sorting out and negotiating the details of project financing and subcontracting. Debski would not discuss specifics of potential contracts, noting only that "we're organizing everything. It's a huge project.
"It's so early in the stage," he added.
ECE in Poland is owned by Hamburg-based ECE Projektmanagement, the 30-year-old real estate arm of the OTTO Group, whose core business is direct mailing through family-owned OTTO Versand.
Financing will mainly come from the OTTO Group and banks, which traditionally include Deutsche Bank and other German financial institutions, Debski said.
Development of plac Dominikanski has been a stop-and-go process with investors such as Radisson and Ilbau ultimately bowing out of investment projects there, according to local sources.
Building on the site involves excavation and intense archaeological work, they said. ECE said it has built archaeological discovery into its business plan and is confident it can achieve its three-year deadline.
"The city is very helpful," Debski said. "We have a lot of archaeological work - so far we have always kept our deadlines."
Although plac Dominikanski is ECE's first project in Poland, the German company has designed, built and managed numerous projects mainly in Germany, Debski said, noting construction on Potsdammer square in Berlin and reconstruction of the train station in Leipzig.
"We are working on other projects in Poland," Debski said. ECE is currently looking at numerous sites, but would not say where it would take a stake next. "It's difficult to predict anything. It depends on the real estate."
However, ECE is planning "to come into the city center," Debski said. "We don't believe in greenfields. That's the philosophy of the company."
"The existing Panorama Hotel is somewhat technically obsolete," Weglowski said. The total hotel project will run $10 million, he said, financed partly by Orbis funds and partly from the sale to ECE of land under the existing Hotel Panorama.
"We think this is a good way not only to refurbish but to rebuild," Weglowski said. ECE approached Orbis and has been working with it for one year, he said, adding that Orbis will own the new hotel and have a perpetual lease to the site.
ECE is by far the larger investor in the remake, estimating construction costs will run DM 150 million for its 75,000-80,000 square-meter, multi-use complex. Initial blueprints call for a commercial mall and office building with a three-floor, underground garage for more than 1,000 cars.
Commercial space at about 25,000 square meters will dominate the mall and could include space for 100 stores and possibly a department store, said Jan Debski, managing director of ECE Projektmanagement Polska. Office space will run about 2,500 square meters, he said.
The city of Wroclaw awarded ECE Projektmanagement the bid to purchase the land last month. ECE is now sorting out and negotiating the details of project financing and subcontracting. Debski would not discuss specifics of potential contracts, noting only that "we're organizing everything. It's a huge project.
"It's so early in the stage," he added.
ECE in Poland is owned by Hamburg-based ECE Projektmanagement, the 30-year-old real estate arm of the OTTO Group, whose core business is direct mailing through family-owned OTTO Versand.
Financing will mainly come from the OTTO Group and banks, which traditionally include Deutsche Bank and other German financial institutions, Debski said.
Development of plac Dominikanski has been a stop-and-go process with investors such as Radisson and Ilbau ultimately bowing out of investment projects there, according to local sources.
Building on the site involves excavation and intense archaeological work, they said. ECE said it has built archaeological discovery into its business plan and is confident it can achieve its three-year deadline.
"The city is very helpful," Debski said. "We have a lot of archaeological work - so far we have always kept our deadlines."
Although plac Dominikanski is ECE's first project in Poland, the German company has designed, built and managed numerous projects mainly in Germany, Debski said, noting construction on Potsdammer square in Berlin and reconstruction of the train station in Leipzig.
"We are working on other projects in Poland," Debski said. ECE is currently looking at numerous sites, but would not say where it would take a stake next. "It's difficult to predict anything. It depends on the real estate."
However, ECE is planning "to come into the city center," Debski said. "We don't believe in greenfields. That's the philosophy of the company."
