The moment of truth arrives

Before it even opened, the development won several prestigious awards, and was even featured on the Discovery Channel. Real-estate experts believe that this EUR 500 (zł.1,941) million investment will change the city for the better, but worries about increased traffic and anger over its delayed opening mean Złote Tarasy has yet to win the hearts of Varsovians.

The history of Złote Tarasy (Golden Terraces) dates all the way back to 1995, when authorities of Warsaw and ING signed a letter of intent for the development of the area in Warsaw between the Central Train Station and ul. Złota.

Skanska was chosen as the project's general constructor and despite several legal challenges that were brought by environmental activist group Stowarzyszenie Przyjazne Miasto (Friendly City Association) and the heirs of the Żółkowski family, who owned the plot before WWII, Złote Tarasy's construction began in the winter of 2002.

Złote Tarasy's completion date was delayed twice. The first time was in 2005, due to  delays with the Multikino project, and the second time in October 2006, when Skanska was unable to finishing construction on time. Finally, ING scheduled the mall's grand opening for February 2007.

The Złote Tarasy complex consists of 225,000 sqm of total space, which includes 63,500 sqm of retail and leisure areas. The shopping center's glass dome is its most eye-catching feature. It took over 12 months to complete the dome, which is composed of 4,700 glass panels. The roof has been equipped with a system designed to help it withstand all types of weather conditions. 

On top of that Złote Tarasy contains class-A+ office space totaling 45,000 sqm. The offices, which are located in the Lumen building and the tower portion of the complex, will be fully operational later this year. Both buildings are separate from the shopping center and have independent entrances. However, the buildings have been constructed so that employees will be able to move quickly from one section to another through a special corridor accessible only to holders of special security cards.

Step towards development

The Mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, said that Złote Tarasy is another step towards the development of the center of Poland's capital city. "The development of the area around the Palace of Science and Culture is a big effort for us," she said during the mall's opening ceremony. "However it is happening and Warsaw's city center should look better soon."

In addition, Gronkiewicz-Waltz added that what is most important for her as Mayor of Warsaw is that Złote Tarasy will create over 2,000 jobs.

"Warsaw is a major European capital, but its landmarks are few," lamented George Jautze, CEO of ING Real Estate. "The city deserved something spectacular," he said, adding that he hopes that Złote Tarasy becomes the city's number-one destination for shopping, meeting friends for coffee, or even for dining out.

Retail revolution

Experts are convinced that Złote Tarasy will have a significant impact on Poland's retail market. Malgorzata Machnicka, a senior retail analyst from PMR, said that the opening of Złote Tarasy is a step forward, as several new brands have entered Poland's market.

"Until now there has been more or less the same brands of shops, cafés or restaurants," appearing in Poland's newly opened shopping malls, Machnicka said.

Machnicka added that the reason for the lack of those brands on Poland's market up to now, was the high cost of the franchising deals offered by those brands.

The many years of waiting for shops like the Body Shoppe or restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe, which are making their first appearance in Poland in Złote Tarasy, could have also come about due to the brands' high expectations towards their franchisees. This is why a major international player, Alshaya, is now responsible for developing those two brands in Poland.

"Most probably, the companies that own particular brands were looking for someone who could develop the brand not only in one city, but a whole country or even region," explained Machnicka. "Some newly opened shops in Złote Tarasy can be used as a 'pilot program' and after an evaluation of their operations is done, other outlets could be opened in several different locations."

Moreover, experts say the opening of Złote Tarasy most likely won't threaten the position of Warsaw's other malls. Dorota Flak, a retail analyst from King Sturge, said the the market position of the well established Galeria Mokotów shopping center is not in danger, as its favorable location will always fill the mall with customers. Indeed, Flak says that though Złote Tarasy will make a big splash on Warsaw's retail market, she still sees a possibility of building more shopping malls in Poland's capital.

"If only the right land plot is available, the investor would be found and Warsaw could gain another shopping complex," said Flak.

Traffic jam

However, the mall's location, in the very center of the city, has become a cause for concern. Some Varsovians fear the increase in shoppers in the area will lead to increased traffic jams that will paralyze that area of the capital.

When asked about difficulties in a road traffic around the Złote Tarasy, Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz vowed that the situation is under control, and that a special team of experts has been established at Warsaw's City Hall to address the traffic issue.

Marcel A Kooij, the president of Złote Tarasy's board, also promised that a planning specialist had made sure that the new complex wouldn't cause any major traffic disaster.

"We have 1,600 parking places which are located on four levels, with three entrances to the parking structure. We believe this is sufficient," said Kooij.

Rockin' Hard

A large amount of excitement has been generated by the opening of Hard Rock Cafe, which is one of the biggest dining venues in Warsaw, with over 850 sqm and a 300-guests capacity. This is the 125th Hard Rock Cafe restaurant worldwide and the first in Central Europe (the Prague Hard Rock Cafe in the Czech Republic is not an original venue and will be closed soon, according to the company).

Łukasz Stanicki, general manager of Warsaw's Hard Rock Cafe, said that Kraków could be the next Polish city to host a Hard Rock, however the right location has not been found yet. After a Kraków restaurant is established, the Tri-city and Wrocław could be other targets.

However, Stanicki says there is only room for two or three Hard Rock Cafes in Poland. This is a company strategy to keep the restaurant unique.

"To give you a better picture, in Germany we have only three restaurants and in Spain only two," Stanicki says. He did not want to reveal the amount of money invested in the Warsaw restaurant, however according to Hard Rock Cafe's official website, $2-4 (zł.6-12) million is needed to open an outlet. 

Late in coming

Despite the fact that the completion of the shopping complex has been significantly delayed and retailers could have been harmed by the losses, especially by missing post-Christmas sales, owners and operators of Złote Tarasy's shops and restaurants have said that they aren't considering launching a lawsuit against Złote Tarasy.

"We have not been considering such an option." said Artur Mikołajko, president of Intersport, which has opened a shop in Złote Tarasy.

However, King Sturge's Flak presumes that the biggest tenants of Złote Tarasy might ask for compensation, especially from those corporations which have opened several different shops there.

For his part, Złote Tarasy's Kooij did not want to comment on the possibility of claiming any kind of compensation from Skanska, the general contractor.

"We have a beautiful day to celebrate the opening of Złote Tarasy complex, and I believe it is an inappropriate time to discuss matters with Skanska," said Kooij during the opening ceremony.

Kooij also highlighted ING's good relationship with Skanska as well as with all of the mall's tenants.