Out of over 6 mln sq. m office spaces in Poland the majority (over 3,6 mln sq.m) is situated in Warsaw. In the rating of the cities in this region, Poznań, having nearly 300 000 sq.m office space, takes the places after Cracow, Wrocław, Trójmiasto and Łódź. In the first half of 2012, nearly 65 00 sq. metres office space reached the regional market, which means there has been a 25 per cent increase in comparison with the first half of 2011 (the bigges in Wrocław, Trójmiasto and Szczecin). Despite these statistics, developers consider the Poznń market a primising one. The evidence is both the existing buildings and new buildings being created. They offer a broad range of possibilities for the tenants. Especially those which are located in attractive locations, close to the city centre.
Malta House
In view of new trends and demands of investors, the first "green" office block Malta House has the best image. It has been put up by Skansa near Maltańskie lake, in close vicinity to the city centre of Poznań. There will be 15700 sq m office space class A and nearly 300 parking places in this five-storey building. One of visible traits of the sustainable development rules will be parking spaces for bicycles, as well as cloakrooms with showers for cyclists. However, the Platinum LEED1 certificate itself is much more important. Not only does it mean prestige but it is also a guarantee of savings for tentants, because the operating costs in case of green buildings are 25-30 per cent lower.
Lofty Ułańskie
A project which is deeply rooted in history is Lofty Ułańskie - a connection of tradition and modernity. In the area of historical army barracks of 15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment, office space class B has found its location. It is aimed at businesses looking for possibilities to arrange the space individually in untypical high interiors made of red brick, finished with stone and glass. One- and two-storey spaces range form 60 to 160 metres in space. The monuments conservator watched over the works, which was a real challenge for the investor. The place is even more attractive because of its location in the ciy centre and easy access to Poznań outgoing roads.
Lofty are one of few examples in Poznań of successful revitalizaition of historical buildings, where modernity did not impoverish the atmosphere of the historical period. The price is around 14 euros per one square metre.
Szyperska Office Center
Szyperska Office Center is a classic example of an effectively operating developer, who reacts to the crisis skillfully. The building, situated by the river Warta running through Poznań, was orignally aimed to have a residential character, just as the adjacent buildings. In the face of crisis, the developer has redesigned the building, already in core & shell, into a seven-storey office block, where a lot of financial and legal institution have found their head office. In the distance of ten minutes walk from the Old Market Square, there is 17 000 sq. m office space, class A.
Thanks to appropriately designed frame of the building, the possibilty to arrange the space individually was preserved, with an option to arrange an open space office type. Inside the building a complex of courtyards was planned which is supposed to provide light for office floors. They are partially provided with greenery at the level of the first floor. The cost of lease is 14,5 euro per square metre.
Temida
Temida constitutes another successful offer - a nine-storey office building class A, in the immediate vicinity of the Court and the public prosecutor's office, with a view on the courtroom. The building in a cylinder shape will offer 2500 sq. m space, with an underground garage hall, which in the very centre of the city is an enourmous advantage. The space of one floor ranges from 220 to 300 sq. m, offerring the possibility to arrange open spaces as well as divinding the space freely. In accrodance with the standards of class A, high-speed lifts are planned in this building, as well as an entrance ahll with a reception desk on the ground floor. Also such elements as: air-conditioning, two independent power sources, optical fibre connection, 24h security, cctv monitoring, Intrusion Detection system and access control sustem belong to the standard. The space in Temida is for sale - the price is 11 000 PLN per square metre.
Alfa, Alfa, Mostostal
In the very centre of the city, at the representative St.Martin Street, ther is a complex of office buildings called Alfa. They are peculiar souvenirs from the last regime. as they were put up in 1968. They were designed by a famous architect, Jerzy Liśniewicz; they were built on posts made of reinforced concrete, provided by glass elevation and connected with each other by a sequence of glazed rooms. Once maybe beautiful and modern, the towers of Alfa are now lacking in the beauty department because of dividing the builing among many owners and difficulties with renovation. The offered space barely reaches the standards of class B. One of the five towers, the building of Mostostal, has just been sold for 7 mln Polish zloties. Taking into account the usable space is 4 000 metres, this means the pirce 1750 per square metre. Although, according to experts, renovating the towers would not pay off, the price means such a purchase will be depreciated in a few years. Maybe then a completely new building will be created here.
Sky scrapers
Poznań actually isn't luck when it comes to sky scrapers, which could change the silhouette of the city. Large projects so far remain on paper or maybe at the plaaning stage. A few years ago, the inhabitants of Poznań became excieted hearing that 105-metres Korona Tower - a project in heart of the city - will be designed by the famours Daniel Liebeskind. Although the investor received the decision about land development conditions, the construction of the tower has been postponed until undefined future. Another, even larger sky scraper (the biggest in Poland, having 280 metres) was planned to be built by a Spanish investor, at the cost of 300 mln euro. However, after the problems Spain encountered in the times of crisis, the investor disappeared from the city's authorities sight. Maybe the well-known investor Piotr Voekel will break the spell. Together with a renowned Dutch architecture firm MVRDV he has engaged in the Baltic Tower project. This mdoern buildings - as those in the know claim - will change the modest image of the city centre and will constitute an alternative centre of the city.