Jazz Partners appealing Gmina decision on Akwarium site
Jazz Partners, a company established by individuals running Akwarium, in early November lost a gmina tender for the 99-year lease of 1,800 square meters of land on ulica Emilii Plater where the jazz club is now located.
"There are many complaints, none of them are very specific," said Grzegorz Wolff, a press officer with the Centrum Gmina, which received the protest Nov. 24. He added that the gmina is likely to respond within two weeks. The jazzmen's main complaint is that the tender commission wasn't objective and favored Sienna even though the developer, which is owned by Austria's Warimpex, didn't offer the highest price, said Mariusz Adamiak, president of Jazz Partners.
His company offered the lowest price at zl. 6.2 million ($1.7 million). Sienna's bid came in at zl. 7.7 million ($2.2 million) behind a zl. 9.9 million ($2.8 million) bid from Katowice-based construction company Pascal.
"Financial reasons weren't decisive, so what was decisive?" Adamiak asked.
The gmina said Sienna's offer was the most attractive for several reasons. The developer offered to upgrade the sidewalk on Emilii Plater for ECU 250,000 or nearly zl. 1 million ($285,000). Moreover, price made up only 20% of the total score received by bidders. The remainder of the score was based on investor credibility, architectural concept and benefits to the city, Wolff said.
Adamiak claimed that Sienna's offer to upgrade the sidewalk was unfair because it was made after the public presentation of bids. Wolff said, however, that the sidewalk renovation was included in Sienna's original bid.
Adamiak also questioned the benefits to the city of the new, 39-story office building Sienna plans to build on the site that has been home to Akwarium for 26 years. Jazz Partners wanted to preserve the area as a cultural center and planned to develop a $27 million, 20-story entertainment and cultural complex that would include three concert halls, a music store, a gallery and restaurants, Adamiak said. He would not detail the financing plan for the project, but said some investors had already been lined up.
The tender appeal isn't the last stand for the Akwarium, however. Even if Jazz Partners' appeal fails, the club will live on. In the tender, the gmina asked bidders to offer 200 square meters for the jazz club in any new building and also to provide an alternative location for it during construction. Akwarium now has 570 square meters, Adamiak said.
School financing
The American School of Warsaw, a U.S.-embassy owned, non-profit school, is currently in negotiations with several banks to nail down a commercial loan to finance its new home on a site it acquired in Konstancin, south of Warsaw.
"We hope to close financing in two or three months," said Anthony Horton, director of the school.
Horton would not name the banks involved in the negotiations, but said the school wants a loan to fund up to $20 million of the new school's cost, which is expected to run from $25 million-$30 million. The loan would mature in 10-15 years.
The American School currently leases 11,000 square meters in three buildings, two owned by the Catholic Church and one by DipService. Last year the school splashed out $2 million to buy 10 hectares of land in Konstancin, a high-end suburb, to develop its own property there.
"We need better facilities, bigger facilities and facilities that we fully control (own)," Horton said. The school hopes to start construction in July or August 1999.
The new school would be fully completed in 2001, but part of it would be opened in 2000, Horton said. The new school, unlike the existing one, will include dining facilities, a full-sized gym, sports fields and one day an auditorium and swimming pool, Horton said.
The new location would help the school to increase the number of pupils to 1,100 from the current level of 750, he added. Boosting enrollment would also help to grow revenue, which is expected to hit $9 million this year.
Horton said the American School selected Konstancin as its new location because the vast majority of students' families live there or in the neighboring areas of Wilanow, Piaseczno and Mokotow.
In addition, the new site will be part of a larger, 54-hectare development that will include a residential area to be built by Globe Trade Center (GTC), Horton said.
Steen & Strom
Norwegian real estate firm Steen & Strom said it expects to open two to three new shopping centers in Poland annually.
As a major step in this expansion, the company plans next year to expand its flagship shopping center in Warsaw - Centrum Handlowe Targowek - and to open a second, to be called Centrum Handlowe Reduta, said Robert Nowakowski, head of marketing activities with Steen & Strom.
Steen & Strom currently operates the 35,000 square meter Centrum Handlowe Targowek, which opened earlier this year, and a small 8,000 square meter shopping center in Szczecin. The company co-finances and operates shopping centers developed with Denmark-based TKD Development.
"Business (in Targowek) is going well, very well," Nowakowski said. "The potential is high."
In April 1999, Steen & Strom plans to open the Centrum Handlowe Reduta, a 37,000 square meter shopping center on Aleje Jerozolimskie that like Targowek will include a hypermarket operated by France's Carrefour, Nowakowski said.
In addition, the company plans next year to expand the Targowek shopping center to 50,000 square meters. The new phase, which will be completed by the end of 1999, will include a multiplex cinema, restaurants and retail stores.
By 2000, the company plans to open a shopping center in Bytom, near Katowice.
"There are many complaints, none of them are very specific," said Grzegorz Wolff, a press officer with the Centrum Gmina, which received the protest Nov. 24. He added that the gmina is likely to respond within two weeks. The jazzmen's main complaint is that the tender commission wasn't objective and favored Sienna even though the developer, which is owned by Austria's Warimpex, didn't offer the highest price, said Mariusz Adamiak, president of Jazz Partners.
His company offered the lowest price at zl. 6.2 million ($1.7 million). Sienna's bid came in at zl. 7.7 million ($2.2 million) behind a zl. 9.9 million ($2.8 million) bid from Katowice-based construction company Pascal.
"Financial reasons weren't decisive, so what was decisive?" Adamiak asked.
The gmina said Sienna's offer was the most attractive for several reasons. The developer offered to upgrade the sidewalk on Emilii Plater for ECU 250,000 or nearly zl. 1 million ($285,000). Moreover, price made up only 20% of the total score received by bidders. The remainder of the score was based on investor credibility, architectural concept and benefits to the city, Wolff said.
Adamiak claimed that Sienna's offer to upgrade the sidewalk was unfair because it was made after the public presentation of bids. Wolff said, however, that the sidewalk renovation was included in Sienna's original bid.
Adamiak also questioned the benefits to the city of the new, 39-story office building Sienna plans to build on the site that has been home to Akwarium for 26 years. Jazz Partners wanted to preserve the area as a cultural center and planned to develop a $27 million, 20-story entertainment and cultural complex that would include three concert halls, a music store, a gallery and restaurants, Adamiak said. He would not detail the financing plan for the project, but said some investors had already been lined up.
The tender appeal isn't the last stand for the Akwarium, however. Even if Jazz Partners' appeal fails, the club will live on. In the tender, the gmina asked bidders to offer 200 square meters for the jazz club in any new building and also to provide an alternative location for it during construction. Akwarium now has 570 square meters, Adamiak said.
School financing
The American School of Warsaw, a U.S.-embassy owned, non-profit school, is currently in negotiations with several banks to nail down a commercial loan to finance its new home on a site it acquired in Konstancin, south of Warsaw.
"We hope to close financing in two or three months," said Anthony Horton, director of the school.
Horton would not name the banks involved in the negotiations, but said the school wants a loan to fund up to $20 million of the new school's cost, which is expected to run from $25 million-$30 million. The loan would mature in 10-15 years.
The American School currently leases 11,000 square meters in three buildings, two owned by the Catholic Church and one by DipService. Last year the school splashed out $2 million to buy 10 hectares of land in Konstancin, a high-end suburb, to develop its own property there.
"We need better facilities, bigger facilities and facilities that we fully control (own)," Horton said. The school hopes to start construction in July or August 1999.
The new school would be fully completed in 2001, but part of it would be opened in 2000, Horton said. The new school, unlike the existing one, will include dining facilities, a full-sized gym, sports fields and one day an auditorium and swimming pool, Horton said.
The new location would help the school to increase the number of pupils to 1,100 from the current level of 750, he added. Boosting enrollment would also help to grow revenue, which is expected to hit $9 million this year.
Horton said the American School selected Konstancin as its new location because the vast majority of students' families live there or in the neighboring areas of Wilanow, Piaseczno and Mokotow.
In addition, the new site will be part of a larger, 54-hectare development that will include a residential area to be built by Globe Trade Center (GTC), Horton said.
Steen & Strom
Norwegian real estate firm Steen & Strom said it expects to open two to three new shopping centers in Poland annually.
As a major step in this expansion, the company plans next year to expand its flagship shopping center in Warsaw - Centrum Handlowe Targowek - and to open a second, to be called Centrum Handlowe Reduta, said Robert Nowakowski, head of marketing activities with Steen & Strom.
Steen & Strom currently operates the 35,000 square meter Centrum Handlowe Targowek, which opened earlier this year, and a small 8,000 square meter shopping center in Szczecin. The company co-finances and operates shopping centers developed with Denmark-based TKD Development.
"Business (in Targowek) is going well, very well," Nowakowski said. "The potential is high."
In April 1999, Steen & Strom plans to open the Centrum Handlowe Reduta, a 37,000 square meter shopping center on Aleje Jerozolimskie that like Targowek will include a hypermarket operated by France's Carrefour, Nowakowski said.
In addition, the company plans next year to expand the Targowek shopping center to 50,000 square meters. The new phase, which will be completed by the end of 1999, will include a multiplex cinema, restaurants and retail stores.
By 2000, the company plans to open a shopping center in Bytom, near Katowice.
