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The
growth
of Krakow
is helped
by the
development
of large
commercial
centres
offering
alternatives
to the
Old
Town
and
its
surroundings.
However,
it would
be ideal
if the
City
took
the
effort
to create
one,
very
large
secondary
centre.
In
terms
of real
estate
developments,
Krakow
has
so far
been
seen
mainly
as an
attractive
market
for
housing
projects.
There
are
now
more
flats
being
built
in our
city,
the
capital
of Małopolska,
than
in the
entire
Polish
Tri-City
(Gdańsk,
Sopot,
Gdynia).
4,992
flats
commissioned
in 2007
ranks
us the
second
in the
country.
From
the
economic
perspective,
this
figure
may
seem
like
good
news,
but
it is
not
the
only
statistic
that
determines
the
economic
standing
of a
city.
Warsaw,
with
over
3 million
square
meters
of office
space
(Krakow
has
approximately
300,000
m2)
and
some
1.9
million
m2 of
storage
and
logistics
facilities,
is way
ahead
of other
Polish
cities.
Undoubtedly,
cities
which
wish
to grow
should
develop
in a
balanced
way.
Both
office
and
storage/logistics
developments
play
a key
economic
role
in them
and
contribute
to the
growth
of the
labour
market.
From
Krakow's
perspective,
their
significance
cannot
be overestimated:
space
in new
developments
is lease
by companies
that
offer
very
good
salaries,
and
the
low
median
salary
is a
weaknesses
of Krakow.
Analyses
by the
Notus
Credit
Brokers
show
that
our
city
ranks
behind
not
only
Warsaw,
but
also
Katowice
and
the
Tri-City.
Attractive
Bonarka
Unfavourable
trends
can
be reversed
by following
a strategy
which
helps
to attract
rich
developers.
At present,
this
process
is spontaneous:
large
office
developments
are
erected
in attractive
locations,
giving
clear
proof
of high,
still
unused
potential.
It seems
that
this
process
could
be accelerated
by an
intentional
policy
of creating
large
commercial
centres
that
could
act
as alternatives
to the
Old
Town
and
its
environs.
However,
it would
be best
to combine
the
efforts
of the
local
authorities
to create
one
huge
secondary
centre,
residential
and
commercial
in nature,
which
could
act
as the
engine
for
Krakow's
continued
growth
in the
future.
Is
this
possible?
The
great
interest
of large
developers
in Krakow
suggests
an affirmative
answer.
Municipality
representatives
report
that
by 2009,
the
capital
of Małopolska
will
have
20 new
office
buildings
with
over
150,000
m2 of
space.
One
of the
largest
planned
projects
is the
Bonarka
4 Business
development
to be
built
in a
large
retail/service/leisure
development
called
the
Bonarka
City
Centre
covering
19 hectares.
As part
of this
development,
the
Hungarian
TriGranit
will
build
four
seven-storey
office
buildings
with
the
total
floor
space
of 32,000
m2.
The
development
has
been
designed
by a
well-known
Krakow
architects
Artur
Jasiński
and
Partners
(and
will
be commercialised
by Jones
Lang
LaSalle).
The
aim
is to
create
a fragment
of public
space
of which
office
buildings
will
form
only
one
element,
as it
will
also
include
squares
and
fountains,
for
instance.
Every
building,
distinguished
from
the
others
by its
colour
and
the
layout
of windows,
finished
in materials
including
brick,
glass
and
natural
stone,
will
be strikingly
illuminated
in the
evening.
The
TriGranite
project,
valued
at approximately
500
million
euro
(the
Bonarka
City
Centre
will
include
a huge
shopping
mall
with
250
shops,
a 20-screen
cinema,
and
9 restaurants),
heralds
a new
stage
in city
development.
The
arrival
of such
a large
developer,
running
projects
totalling
2 billion
euro,
stimulates
the
interest
of developers
from
various
parts
of the
world
in the
city.
Magnet
for
business
In
recent
days,
Ireland-based
Quinlan
Private
Golub
has
announced
the
plan
to erect
three
office
buildings
in the
Zabłocie
part
of Krakow.
"We
got
interested
in Krakow
because
this
city
is exceptional
in many
respects.
It has
great
location,
attracts
international
business
and
has
highly
qualified
employees"
- said
Jonathan
Cohen,
the
President
of QPG
for
Poland,
during
the
presentation.
The
Enterprise
Park,
situated
on the
southern
bank
of the
Vistula
at the
Na Dołach
St.,
will
comprise
three
class
A buildings
with
the
total
floor
space
of 28,000
m2.
The
business
park
has
been
designed
so that
there
is one
parking
space
for
every
30 m2
of leased
office
space.
Every
building
with
have
an elegant
central
reception
desk
and
service
premises
on the
ground
floor.
The
development
has
been
designed
by the
renowned
Krakow
architectural
firm
DDJM.
The
Irish
company
is currently
running
projects
worth
2.5
billion
euro.
Its
completed
developments
include
the
Wiśniowy
Business
Park
of Warsaw,
the
Warsaw
Financial
Center
as well
as the
comfortable
Oakland
Park
housing
estate
near
Warsaw
and
the
Forum
shopping
mall
in Gliwice.
So
can
local
players
Foreign
developers
have
a successful
competitor
in the
Krakow
market:
the
Buma
Group,
based
in the
city,
whose
completed
projects
include
the
Buma
Square
office
complex
(28,000 m2)
and
the
Rondo
Business
Park
at Lublańska
St.
(in
the
vicinity
of the
Polsad
Roundabout)
with
18,000
m2.
"Our
plans
include
erecting
several
office
buildings
to be
completed
by 2012"
- emphasises
Piotr
Michalski
of the
Buma
Group.
"The
first
is the
Onyx
office
building
at the
Powstańców
Śląskich
St.
with
6,000
m2 of
space
(designed
by Mofo
) whose
construction
is now
approaching
completion,
the
second
is the
large
Quattro
Business
Park
office
development
of 48,000
m2 split
into
four
office
buildings
of 12,000
m2 each,
situated
at the
Bora
Komorowskiego
St.
(designed
by Professor
Kuryłowicz's
firm),
followed
by a
complex
of three
buildings
called
the
Green
Office
at Bobrzyńskiego
St.
(the
Ruczaj
housing
estate).
These
buildings
are
classified
as A
and
B+.
Their
features
will
include
underground
garages
as well
as high
quality
air
conditioning
with
humidity
control."
Office
developments
attract
large
companies
interested
in leasing
high
standard
space.
Such
offices
are
already
leased
by well-known
global
corporations
like
IBM,
Sabre
Holdings,
Lufthansa,
Philip
Morris,
Shell,
Motorola,
Cap
Gemini,
Ahold
and
Google.
Krakow
can
compete
with
the
Polish
capital
in rents,
but
their
amounts
in the
two
cities
are
converging.
One
meter
square
of office
space
can
be leased
in Kraków
for
15 to
17 euro,
which
is a
price
similar
to that
in the
Mokotów
district
of Warsaw.
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