In the first half of last year, Centrum Development & Investments presented its plans to rebuild one of the best known facilities in Szczecin – Posejdon near Brama Portowa. At the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012, the building was supposed to be replaced by an office building providing 23 thousand square meters of office and 3.3 thousand, of retail space. However, construction works have not started since the announcement. Why? We spoke to the representative of the owner.

“We are still interested in the investment. This temporary suspension is the effect of commercialization of the building,” says Dorota Wojciechowska, PR & Marketing Director at Centrum Development & Investments. „Once there are tenants interested in this property, the project will be reinstated.” Right now, we don’t see such demand. The reason may be the economic situation.

Ms Wojciechowska assured us that the company had been taking steps to find entities interested in offices in Posejdon and that the investor may change the designs, if so required by a serious tenant.

Meanwhile, new office buildings are popping up. At the beginning of the year, SwedeCenter launched the long-awaited construction of two buildings at Brama Portowa. The property will provide 12 thousand square meters of office space. The property will be completed in Q3 2012. By the end of 2013, the Norwegian RealKapital will complete the erection of three buildings at the intersection of Piastów Avenue, Bohaterów Warszawy Avenue and Dąbrowskiego Street. The provisional name of the complex is Piastów Office Park. Baltic Business Park comprises four office developments near Gontynka on 1 Maja Street. The investor is the Szczecin Koncepta. Construction of a 22-storey Hanza Tower, on the site of the former Dana, has started several months ago. This glass building will house offices, apartments and commercial space. The investment will be completed in 2013. At the end of 2012, SGI Baltis will finish construction of a six-storey Lastadia Office, located right at the riverbank of Odra, near the Customs Office.

Are other investors also short of tenants, just as CDI?
“Brama Portowa has been attracting great interest from potential tenants,” says Anna Szmilewska, Commercial & Leasing Manager at SwedeCenter. “Most of them are companies already active in the Szczecin market, but there are also entities considering Szczecin as a potential location for the start of their business. Such companies are usually represented by international consultants. Right now we are submitting proposals and negotiating terms and conditions with several entities. We have not signed any lease agreements yet, but I can assure you that we will keep you up to date with the news about new tenants. Proposals are tailored to the individual needs of each client.”

Ms Szmilewska argues that Szczecin still lacks modern office space and gives a lot of potential to developers. She believes that the centre of Szczecin is gaining popularity among BPO companies and can compete with other cities which provide office space to companies’ headquarters. Among the major advantages of Szczecin Anna Szmilewska lists: well-educated staff, favourable location and the proximity of Berlin, low labour costs and investor incentives.

Oxygen is nearly fully occupied.
“Some 5 percent of the space is vacant, which gives several hundred square meters,” says Wojciech Gepner, PR Manager at Echo Investment, the owner and administrator of the office property. “Usually, the available office space is 100-300 meters. It is on offer, but we do realize that it will not be easy to find a tenant for it. Besides, it’s good to have some vacant space left, in case one of our tenants wants to expand.

Mr Gepner believes that the future success of office development in Szczecin depends largely on the macroeconomic environment, which is hard to predict, thought the forecasts of another financial crisis do no good. At present companies interested in modern office space are usually small.

“Oxygen has perfectly met the needs of the Szczecin market,” says Mr Gepner. “We’ll see how the other properties will perform. Szczecin is well-perceived by investors, but let’s be honest – it’s not the front line. On the other hand, there is no other city with such a potential to attract companies from Germany and Scandinavia. This should be the major direction for seeking tenants.
“We are very optimistic about commercialization of office space in Szczecin,” says Krzysztof Lebdowicz, Marketing Director of SGI Baltis. “Of course, current situation is very interesting – we are seeing an increase in the available office space by several percent. This leads to a natural selection by potential tenants. It is easier to choose future seat of the company, if the building is already there and the date of completion is known. The later the stage of completion of the investment, the more potential tenants.

Mr Lebdowicz says it is hard to predict how fast the new development will find tenants, but class A office space is much often sought after by local companies, which want to boost their prestige and enhance the effectiveness of employees.

Łucja Pawłowska