Skanska-Hilton partnership in Warsaw hotel doubtful
Hilton International may not operate a $70 million downtown Warsaw luxury hotel that is being developed by Skanska, the Business Journal has learned.
But the Swedish builder-developer will proceed regardless of Hilton's involvement or non-involvement in the project on the corner of Aleja Jana Pawla II and ulica Grzybowska. "We got a construction permit last week," said Anders Falkenius, development manager with Skanska. "We are going ahead full speed," with the original plan intact, he said.
Skanska said in March 1999 it had signed a letter of intent for Hilton to operate the hotel and that Hilton would also finance one-third of the project. Skanska and Portman Holding, the U.S.-based developer, were to begin building the hotel last summer, but the start was delayed.
Hilton now refuses to confirm the project. "We have never announced any (hotel to open) in Warsaw," said Julia Clark, spokeswoman for Hilton International in London. Hilton did confirm holding negotiations with Skanska about a Warsaw hotel plan. "We are continuing to have a dialogue with Skanska, as Warsaw is one of our key destinations," she said. Hilton has no hotel in Poland, though it operates hotels in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
Skanska's Falkenius last week refused to say who would operate the hotel on ulica Jana Pawla. "We're in dialogue with the Hilton," he said. The initial plan to develop remains unchanged and, construction permit now in hand, Skanska has started building and will finish in two years. The developer foresees a "first-class, international business hotel" with 360 rooms and 25,000 square meters of gross space.
A competitor in the hotel development business told the Business Journal off the record last year that such a deal with Skanska and Portman to develop a hotel on ulica Jana Pawla would be attractive for any hotel operator, particularly because Skanska and Portman will finance two-thirds of the project. Additionally, the source said that Skanska's site, next to the Atrium building and across the street from the Mercure Hotel is an excellent location for a business hotel.
