On the 18th of June 2008 (Wednesday) the corner stone ceremony was held for the construction of the University Business Park – an office-building complex created in Łódź by Globe Trade Centre S.A. (GTC).
The foundation act was signed by the Vice President of Łódź, Marek Michalik, the General Director of GTC, Piotr Kroenke, and representatives of firms engaged in the construction of the investment: Strabag, Tebodin SAP Projekt and NOW Architectural Office.
University Business Park is being built on a plot with an area of 12,200 sq m at 178 Wólczańska Street, near the crossroads of Kościuszki Avenue and Mickiewicza Avenue, directly adjacent to the exact city centre and the buildings of the Technical University of Łódź. The complex is intended to be composed of two seven-storey buildings, offering a total of 37 500 sq m of modern office space.
University Business Park was designed to meet the strictest requirements of its future tenants. The buildings will be equipped with air-conditioning, modern telecommunication systems, high ceilings, controlled access to office space and professional security. Among the additional conveniences for the future users, there is also an underground car park for 600 cars and a car wash.
The first of the buildings will be handed over for use in the Q4 2009, and the second – in Q1 2010.
“Thanks to the construction of the University Business Park, Łódź has become the next city on GTC’s investment map. Firms, both Polish and international, observing the enormous potential of Łódź and appreciating the quality of education provided by the higher education here are interested in developing their activity in this city. I hope that GTC’s investment will prove to be an additional asset, enabling Łódź to draw still greater numbers of attractive employers,” said Piotr Kroenke, General Director of GTC, during the ceremony.
The University Business Park project was created in the Łódź studio of NOW Architectural Office. The designers were interested in extensive functionality in the interior of the complex and good access for natural light, as well as with the modern appearance of the elevations. The buildings will have floors of a uniquely large space – 2 900 sq m, which will enable the larger lessees to arrange their offices conveniently without unnecessary space division.
The main contractor for University Business Park is the international company Strabag, with whom GTC has cooperated in the building of the Topaz and Nefryt office buildings in Warsaw. Supervision of the investment is conducted by SAP Tebodin Projekt, and the agencies King Sturge and Ober Haus are responsible for the leasing of the office space.
GTC is investing a total of 70 million euros in the execution of University Business Park.
“On behalf of all citizens of Łódź I would like to thank GTC for its contribution in the development of our City. The process of creating a modern office space, awaited by many BPO investors, is necessary for this development. The University Business Park, where today we are laying a corner stone, is an evidence of the fact that modern office space is in great demand. I am convinced that inaugurating the investment will result in new work places and raise the investment attractiveness of our City.” – said Marek Michalik, Vice President of Łódź, during the ceremony.
Łódź is one of seven Polish cities with GTC activity; the others being Warsaw, Krakow, Poznań, Wrocław, Częstochowa and Katowice. Currently the company runs projects in three main segments of the real estate market: office, residential and retail-entertainment centres.
GTC’s office projects have for years changed the appearance of the cities in which they have been built. In its portfolio of completed or executed investments, GTC possesses many significant buildings including Nefryt, Platinium Business Park and Okęcie Business Park in Warsaw, the Globis building in Wrocław, the office complex in Krakow on Armia Krajowa Avenue and others. GTC was also the investor at Mokotów Business Park – the first modern office park in Warsaw.
The office buildings created by GTC also draw investors to other countries in Central and Eastern and South Eastern Europe – from Prague through Budapest and Bucharest to Belgrade and Zagreb. For its activity in the region so far, the firm has been awarded the prestigious titles of Developer of the Year Central–Eastern Europe in the years 2004 and 2007 and also Developer of the Year South Eastern Europe in 2007.