Spectacular facilities that are currently under construction in Warsaw, will in a few years provide one of the most modern office bases in Europe.

Urban progress that has taken place in Warsaw over the last decade is visible at every turn. The resources of the Warsaw office market have doubled during this time and exceeded the level of 5 million sq m of space. Warsaw office buildings are brand new, while in Western Europe, such buildings are several dozen years old. In addition, infrastructure investments carried out in the city get several times more public funds than, for example, in Budapest or Bucharest. Walter Herz specialists are proud to admit that it's nice to watch how fast the city is changing.

According to the advisers, Warsaw market still needs a lot of time to reach maturity, when compared to the leading locations in Western Europe. However, thanks to the rapid development, Warsaw which offers about 60 per cent of modern office space available in our country, is catching up with other European cities in terms of office resources. Although it cannot compete with such cities as Paris, London, Munich and Berlin, it already ranks around the level of Amsterdam, Barcelona or Athens.

Warsaw attracts the largest global companies

The investment boom that can be observed on the Warsaw real estate market is an opportunity to attract the world's largest players to the city. International real estate development companies that have been present in our market for years now have clearly increased their activity by implementing further large projects in Warsaw.

According to Walter Herz analysts’ calculations, there are now around 830 thousand sq m of office space under construction in the agglomeration. This is a result that the city has never seen before. However, the demand for Warsaw offices has never been so large. Market absorption is impressive, as evidenced by the dropping vacancy rate. The capital of Poland is starting to gain recognition of the world's largest companies, which is confirmed by the recent decision of JP Morgan bank to transfer part of its operations to Warsaw.

A breakthrough moment for the Polish market

Walter Herz experts note that we now have the opportunity to observe a breakthrough moment in the history of the Polish market and change the status of Poland, which has up until now been the borderline between the developing and the developed markets. With the decision of FTSE Russell, to be announced next year, our country will advance in the classification to become the developed market.
A reflection of this assessment is the quality of the offer of the Warsaw office market, with facilities created using the best global architectural solutions. New office buildings are based on eco-friendly technologies that ensure maximum work comfort, and developers outdo each other in ideas to further distinguish their complexes. Warsaw creates a potential that will soon allow it to compete with the best office locations in Europe.

The tallest building in the EU

Walter Herz specialists note that the construction of the Varso project is underway in the center of the city. It will provide Warsaw with the highest building in the European Union. Varso Tower will take the place of London's The Shard. The project includes the implementation of several office buildings that will provide almost 150 thousand sq m of modern space. A substantial share of the large-scale investments among the current Warsaw projects, means that most of the buildings that are under construction will be completed in 2019-2020.

The facilities recently commissioned in Warsaw, such as Warsaw Spire, Q22, Hala Koszyki or Złota 44 are projects that any city in the world would be proud of. Warsaw Spire is a particularly interesting investment, also due to its surroundings. The Europejski Square was created along with the office buildings and recognized by Polish urban planners as the best new public space in Poland.

Mixed-use facilities

Most of the latest Warsaw projects are meeting the requirements of sustainable development. For the benefit of the city, developers implement well-thought-out investments, simultaneously creating a new, living urban fabric. Green recreation areas, city squares, retail areas with catering and services are created at the office buildings.

Mixed-use facilities offering office, retail, hotel and also residential space already have a significant share in the market. Good examples are Złote Tarasy, where a shopping mall has been connected with offices in the Lumen and Skylight buildings, and the restored Hala Koszyki, where the catering and retail and service zone have been integrated with the office buildings. A similar concept was adopted by facilities implemented on the basis of revitalization of historical buildings, such as Praga’s Koneser, ArtNorblin and EC Powiśle.

An increasingly attractive offer

Służewiec, the largest office district in the country that offers over 1.3 million sq m of offices, is also evolving towards sustainable development. The district had previously been criticized for its uniform nature. Developers are now also conducting residential and hotel investments in this area. According to Walter Herz specialists, there are several residential estates and five hotel facilities currently under construction in this region. Changes are also being made in the road infrastructure and public transport, which were not the strongest feature of this business center.

The experts emphasize that the offer of Warsaw office market is very diverse today. In addition to offices for traditional long-term lease, one can find fully equipped space with administrative and technical support, that is instant offices, and co-working offices which are supporting the development of young entrepreneurs, as well as space rented per hour.

According to Walter Herz analysts, the supply of instant offices on the Warsaw market reaches about 45 thousand sq m, and there is over 40 thousand sq m of available co-working space. The developers that are trying to make the offer more flexible, also come up with proposals that combine different lease models.