Metro withdraws from Wroclaw project, downplays pull out
The word is out. German wholesaler Metro has pulled out of a record-setting deal to develop a 17-hectare, retail project on prime Wroclaw property, city officials said last week.
But that's not the final word. When Metro failed to show for an official signing ceremony for the deal on Nov. 10, that almost ensured Metro had cold feet on the site. But its recent absence also sparked rumors that Metro was pulling out of Wroclaw altogether, market watchers here said.
"I heard that they were basically not interested in doing a deal in Wroclaw," said Jerzy Hendrich, director of Commercial Property Services (CPS), a Wroclaw-based real estate consultancy.
Metro last week downplayed a pull out from this regional capital in Lower Silesia.
"It's not excluded that we will invest in the city in the future," said Renata Juszkiewicz, spokeswoman for Metro. For the moment, however, the wholesaler is re-evaluating its expansion strategy, she said.
"We plan to finish investments that we have started and we want to continue investing in sites we've already secured," Juszkiewicz said. "However, with the passage of time, some sites are less interesting for us. These sites are reviewed and we have to resign from certain sites like in the case of Wroclaw."
Juszkiewicz would not say how many sites have been secured for retail development purposes. By the end of last year, Metro had invested DM 1 billion in Poland. At the beginning of December the company will open its eighth shopping center in Lodz. The company has 52 retail and wholesale operations running nationwide.
While last week's announcement suggests that Metro has ended its expansion chapter in Wroclaw, some here said Metro had its eye on another prime site closer to the city center.
"I don't think they are withdrawing from the city," said Iwona Kostrzewska-Whitney, owner of IK Development, a Wroclaw real estate agency. Kostrzewska-Whitney said Metro is vying with Carrefour and Hit to buy the 22-hectare site of the former Polmies meat factory now in the hands of National Investment Fund (NIF) No 8. Octava. "The location in Wroclaw is great," Kostrzewska said. "You can't find another site in the center of the city with so many hectares, it's the last one."
Metro last week was vague on the possibility. "I also heard from different sources calling me that we want to invest there, but I don't have that information," said Juszkiewicz, adding that she was unable to confirm or deny corporate interest in the site.
If Metro is interested in the former meat factory location, it has time to flesh out a plan. As a former industrial complex, the Polmies property has not been re-zoned for retail development. Earlier this month the city board froze making changes to the spatial plan following the recent controversial demolition of historic factory buildings that sparked condemnation from conservationists. "I know the meat factory is on hold for another year as far as the spatial plan," Hendrich said.
Metro won the tender for its shopping center site in January with a record zl. 50.4 million ($12 million) bid. Ownership transfer was delayed until summer by the Interior Ministry, which must sign off on land issues to foreigners. After getting the nod, Metro twice failed to show up at Wroclaw city hall for formal meetings and the city issued the November deadline.
