Raiffeisen ratchets up development

A fifth of all Raiffeisen Evolution Development Project's (RE) developments under construction in the CEE region - in which the firm has a presence in 12 countries - are in Poland. This sizable share is now set for rapid growth as the developer has new investment plans in the residential and retail sectors.

"We want to spend EUR 200 (zł.760) million within the next three years. Some 70 percent of that will go on shopping centers and the rest will be invested in residential developments," says Maciej Krenek, a member of RE's management board.

The company wants to complete over 1,400 apartments in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań and Wrocław. The new developments will probably have roofed playgrounds and additional apartments for future residents' guests.

"We are thinking about various solutions so that our apartments are different to the rest on the market," says Krenek. To prove that, the company has come up with a new brand of apartments, called Residea.

On the retail market the developer is known for its Ferio shopping malls located in smaller cities and in larger residential complexes within big cities. So far two have been opened in Wrocław and Puławy, a third is under construction in Legnica, and construction work on the fourth in Konin will be launched in Q1 2007. The developer also has plans to start building one in Warsaw's Wawer and others are in the pipeline.

"We want to open two or three such complexes a year, but this will depend on whether we are granted plots in attractive locations," says Krenek.