The actual beginning of high-rise architecture was the appearance of a facility at Zielna street, which was completed in 1908, imitating the castle tower. It was one of the first reinforced concrete structures of this type in Europe - it was 51 m from the foundation to the top. In 1922 the building was taken over by the Polish Telegraph Company (pol. Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telegraficzna) and thanks to that it is known today as PAST. The building became famous for the fierce fighting for exercising control over it during the Warsaw Uprising.
Even higher skyscraper was built in Warsaw in 1934 at Napoleon Square (currently Warsaw Insurgents Square). 2 million bricks were used to build 17 floors and 66 meters of Prudential.
Modern offices
Modern office buildings began to develop intensively after 1989 – the first free election and political and economic changes in Poland. Their era began with the completed construction of the LIM Center (the building of the Marriott Hotel) in 1989.
Without a thirty-meter antenna, the skyscraper itself is 140 meters and consists of 42 storey above-ground and 2 underground. The building was designed by Tadeusz Stefański, Jerzy Skrzypczak and Andrzej Bielobradek.
The building gained prestige and popularity, because it was the only one in Poland to have a standard of a five-star hotel. Hotel floors are in the upper part of the building. There are offices below.
In 1990-2000, the first high-rise buildings, such as Orco Tower at the intersection of Jerozolimskie and Chałubińskiego, Ilmet at Rondo ONZ and the Warsaw Financial Center at the intersection of Świętokrzyska and Emilii Plater.
- Investments carried out over the last 30 years have ensured Warsaw with many facilities that are diverse in terms of standard and function - says Judyta Bartnicka, Big Data Analyst at REDD.
Office buildings boom in Warsaw
The real boom, which is clearly visible on the animation prepared by REDD experts, began in 2000. Then the construction of office buildings just "shot off". In 2000 itself, approximately 311,000 sqm of office space were commissioned in Warsaw. For comparison - only until August 2019 - over 353,000 sqm have already been delivered.
According to the calculations of market analysts from the REDD company, in the last 30 years, 607 office buildings have been built in Warsaw, with a total area of approx. 8 351 045 sqm. The largest office districts - including the space under construction - are Śródmieście, in which there are about 2,343,562 sqm of office space, Mokotów comes second (2,298,442 sqm), and Wola in the third place (2,203,535 sqm).
Rents
In the early 90s, the highest rental rates recorded in history reached $ 50 per sqm per month. Such prices were applicable, among others in the Curtis Plaza and in the Warsaw Corporate Center.
Today - according to data available in REDD - the rental rates for top-class office space remain at 25-27 euros per sqm per month, and outside the city center 14-17 euros per month.
Available space on the market
In the near future, the office market may have a problem. The large number of offices provided in recent years, has resulted in an increased number of vacancies.
In 2010, there were approximately 5,414,365 sqm of office space in Warsaw. Today - according to REDD – there is 6,663,853 sqm of space in total, of which 1,064 925 sqm is still available (considering all office buildings in the capital today), so 16% of all available office space on the market is vacant.
REDD, as a database, takes into account all available space, not just A and B class buildings built since 1989.
Warsaw records
The highest office building: Warsaw Spire - 220 meters
The largest office building: Rondo 1 – 57,000 sqm of rentable space
The most expensive office building: Warsaw Spire. Immofinanz has taken over an office tower for around 386 million euros
The largest lease agreement in Poland: mBank in the Warsaw office complex Mennica Legacy Tower, occupies 45,600 sqm, which means that they have rented almost the entire building
