The square's secrets
Plac Defilad is probably one of the most expensive investment areas in Warsaw, where one sqm costs about EUR 2,000 (zł.8,084).These 29 hectares of wasteland, where still a lot has to be done, is a tasty morsel for investors. The problem is that the current legal situation of the area is unclear and its future uncertain.
Plac Defilad is segmented by land plots belonging to unknown inheritors, who are being frantically looked for by Warsaw City Hall. No investment will be possible there unless the legal ownership is established. It is known that about 800 sqm of the plots belonged to Alfred Grzegorz Kahl, and some 1,700 sqm to Dawid Rajder and Maria Gustawa Wajnbaum. Their family members are now being sought by the city.
If the heirs are not reached, then the plots will come into the City's hands. But then again the municipalities will have to fight with those who have already claimed their rights to some plots. There are 26 individuals with claims to plots, some having their cases considered in Strasbourg in the European courts.
Another obstacle for any works to start on Plac Defilad is the conflict between Warsaw municipalities and Kupieckie Domy Towarowe. KDT is the owner of the warehouse-like shopping passages from the side of ul. Marszałkowska, which many say spoil the area's image. Although the lease contract expired a few months ago, KDT's owners do not seem to be in any rush to leave, and City Hall is thought to be preparing an eviction claim.
City Hall clerks assure that the transformation of Plac Defilad will start this year. This is quite unlikely, since it is not even known whether an official plan for the future Plac Defilad has already been prepared by the Chief's Architect Bureau. Even if it is, the document still has to be verified by bodies such as the Monuments' Bureau, Investment Bureau and the Real-Estate Management Bureau. In the end, it will also be the subject of a public discussion.
According to Przemysław Łachmaniuk, a researcher with CB Richard Ellis, the Chief Architect's Office has already given some hints as to what it plans for the square. It plans a very ambitious project with parks and green squares. The architecture is to be rather low. In front of the main entrance, Varsovians will have their "agora" or meeting place. On the northern side a cultural center will be built, a conference center is planned for the western end, and a musical theatre will open to the south. There are also plans to build a winter garden. Part of the new buildings, on the side of ul. Świętokrzyska, will be residential.
In fact the City's Chief Architect, Michał Borowski, was so absorbed with his work on the Plac Defilad project that he didn't have time to speak to Lokale Immobilia.
Plac Defilad is segmented by land plots belonging to unknown inheritors, who are being frantically looked for by Warsaw City Hall. No investment will be possible there unless the legal ownership is established. It is known that about 800 sqm of the plots belonged to Alfred Grzegorz Kahl, and some 1,700 sqm to Dawid Rajder and Maria Gustawa Wajnbaum. Their family members are now being sought by the city.
If the heirs are not reached, then the plots will come into the City's hands. But then again the municipalities will have to fight with those who have already claimed their rights to some plots. There are 26 individuals with claims to plots, some having their cases considered in Strasbourg in the European courts.
Another obstacle for any works to start on Plac Defilad is the conflict between Warsaw municipalities and Kupieckie Domy Towarowe. KDT is the owner of the warehouse-like shopping passages from the side of ul. Marszałkowska, which many say spoil the area's image. Although the lease contract expired a few months ago, KDT's owners do not seem to be in any rush to leave, and City Hall is thought to be preparing an eviction claim.
City Hall clerks assure that the transformation of Plac Defilad will start this year. This is quite unlikely, since it is not even known whether an official plan for the future Plac Defilad has already been prepared by the Chief's Architect Bureau. Even if it is, the document still has to be verified by bodies such as the Monuments' Bureau, Investment Bureau and the Real-Estate Management Bureau. In the end, it will also be the subject of a public discussion.
According to Przemysław Łachmaniuk, a researcher with CB Richard Ellis, the Chief Architect's Office has already given some hints as to what it plans for the square. It plans a very ambitious project with parks and green squares. The architecture is to be rather low. In front of the main entrance, Varsovians will have their "agora" or meeting place. On the northern side a cultural center will be built, a conference center is planned for the western end, and a musical theatre will open to the south. There are also plans to build a winter garden. Part of the new buildings, on the side of ul. Świętokrzyska, will be residential.
In fact the City's Chief Architect, Michał Borowski, was so absorbed with his work on the Plac Defilad project that he didn't have time to speak to Lokale Immobilia.
