Office Space Up for Grabs
Krakow, due to foreign investments, has lately become a city with one of the most tempting building trades in Europe. According to the economic statistics of the last thirty years, the Polish building trade has increased by 33 percent, whereas in Krakow, the building market hit a growth of about 58 percent. Nevertheless, over the last year the industry began moving in the opposite direction, with a consequent decrease in interest among foreign buyers. The latter dropped down by approximately 40 percent during last year.
And yet, the buzz of the moment is around the construction of offices. Krakow is becoming a fascinating place for international businesses to invest in the construction or expansion of office buildings. In particular, the recent expansion of IBM and Accounting Plaza caused a big excitement in the business field.
Many investors and company directors choose Krakow for living in, rather than larger industrial cities such as Warsaw. For this reason numerous multinational corporations such as IBM, Capgemini, Philip Morris and other influential companies have moved their offices to Krakow. The office trade covers about half of the current requests on the building market. The demand, however, relies on some particular requisites, such as a good location in relation to public transportation, buildings exclusively containing offices and not private properties, parking spaces and a lift. Having all of these features places these offices in the “A” category.
Recent statistics have shown that Krakow is only covered by 60,000 m2 of office space, against the 140,000 m2 in Wroclaw, and 430,000 m2 in Warsaw. Krakow has some catching up to do if it wants to remain competitive in Poland, and numerous plans are in the works.
The M65 Medusa Class “A” office building, ready in December, is an example of a constantly growing demand. It holds 4,600 m2 of office accommodation layered on eight floors, and with easy reach to Krakow’s main office district and key public institutions. The area in town with the greatest concentration of office accommodation is in the vicinity of Lubicz Street: Mogilskie and Grzegorzeckie Roundabouts. There you can find office buildings like Centrum Biurowe Lubicz (13,800 m2), which is the largest city centre office building in Krakow, as well as Nowa Kamienica (3,500 m2), Cracovia Business Centre (13,200 m2), Lobos (1,000 m2) and Pliva (2,700 m2).
In addition, the office space that is located outside of the city centre covers approximately 66 percent of the entire space. Most buildings are concentrated in locations like the Czyzyny Special Economic Zone that covers about 4,300 m2 and includes the office buildings of Euromarket (10,000 m2), Galileo (10,000 m2), Zasada Centrum (2,900 m2), and Brama Bobrowiecka (2,600 m2). In the southwest of the city we have the Colosseum Office Building (2.300 m2). The Globe Trade Centre (GTC) is currently launching the construction of a new office building, the Pascal Building, which is scheduled for completion within the fourth quarter of 2009.
Approximately 5,300 m2 of a class “A” modern office space is being created on a 2,800 m2 plot by the Przybyszewskiego and Lea Street junction, with parking spaces for about 50 cars. The company has signed a 12 million z?oty credit agreement with BZ WBK S.A to fund this project.
Offering approximately 15,400 m2 of high standard office space with 246 parking spaces within two underground levels is the Kazimierz Office Centre, situated next to the popular Galeria Kazimierz, which belongs to the Globe Trade Centre project.
The demand for the most prestigious office space is systematically growing. And according to experts, it is expected to increase further as the economy in Krakow gets stronger. Now seems to be the time to invest in commercial properties in the picturesque city of Krakow.