The skyscraper in Warsaw has received a building permit

Prague - A residential skyscraper in the center of the Polish capital, Warsaw, has received a building permit. Construction of the 192-meter tall building is set to begin immediately, with completion planned for the end of summer 2010. The developer of the project, Orco Property Group, announced this in a press release today. The company did not disclose the amount of the investment. At the end of 2007, the project was valued at 71.8 million euros, or approximately 1.8 billion crowns, said Komerční banka analyst Miroslav Adamkovič.
    The project named Zlota 44 was originally expected to obtain its building permit in the third quarter of last year, but the approval process has been prolonged. According to the analyst, the delay in the approval process may result in a postponement of the overall project completion.
    The entire building will have 54 floors and will include 254 luxury apartments. According to the developer’s spokesperson, Petra Zdeňková, 50 percent of them have already been pre-sold. The main contractor for the project is the Belgian construction company Besix.
    "Given the concept of the project as an exclusive residence in the city center, its commercial success can be expected; this type of project is more or less independent of the development of the rest of the residential market," said Adamkovič.
    The building is expected to incorporate energy-efficient technologies that should allow for a reduction in energy consumption by 10 to 20 percent.
    The author of the skyscraper project is the star of world architecture, Daniel Libeskind. According to Libeskind’s plans, for example, the Jewish Museum in Berlin was created, and he is also the author of the redesign of Ground Zero, where the skyscrapers of New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) stood before the terrorist attacks in September 2001.
    According to experts, there is room for further skyscrapers in Warsaw. Demand for luxury apartments in high-rises is growing in the market. "The Warsaw market has great potential and can accommodate many investments of this type," said real estate market specialist Anna Kwiatkowská earlier.
    Orco Property Group has been operating in the Central European real estate market since 1991. Shares of this Luxembourg company are traded on exchanges in Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, and Paris. The value of the company's portfolio is estimated by real estate consulting firm DTZ at 2.4 billion euros (approximately 61 billion crowns). Besides the Czech Republic, the group operates in Hungary, Poland, Russia, Croatia, Germany, and Slovakia.