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Krakow’s Central Development
So-called 'New Town' or 'New City' (Polish ‘Nowe Miasto’), a
250,000-sq-m-plus office-shopping-and-entertainment complex on
the 70,000-sq-meter site in downtown
Krakow next to the Old Town
historic district, remains the city’s biggest development
project under construction.
New city that has a history
Krakow's local government
earmarked the strategic area adjoining Krakow’s
transportation
hub with main railroad and bus stations for its brand-new
commercial center. The successful bidder, American developer
Tishman Speyer Properties, originally pledged at least 500
million US dollars in 1998. The municipality promised to top
it with some $75 million worth of communal investment in the
area over the next four years. In mid-2003 Germany's ECE
Projektmanagement jumped the bandwagon and has gradually
taken over the construction of the main complex from Tishman.
In the wake of September 11, 2001 Krakow's city council
resolved that the New City district's axial street, meant as
future main downtown shopping avenue, would be named 'Ulica
Nowojorska' which translates into 'the New York Street' but
it hasn't materialized to date.
New space next to old Krakow
The first part of the New City has been completed in
September 2006. It's the 123,000-sq-meter Galeria Krakowska
shopping
mall. The immense three-story shopping center boasts 270
shops
and department stores, 14
eateries, and 9
cafes
that take up the total floor space of 60,000 sq. meters.
Plus a car park for 1,400 vehicles.
The Galeria Krakowska cost 250 million euro to build and it
has created about 2,000 new jobs. Together with a four-star
hotel,
opened in mid-2007, the
shopping mall
forms the first of two phases of the New City project.
Krakow's New City project also involves a major overhaul of
downtown traffic northeast of
the Old Town district,
complete with new thruways, tunnels, a purpose-built
tramway, and thorough street modernization. Last but not
least, it is connected with the construction of a brand-new
terminal for the Krakow Glowny main
train station
and the city's central bus depot.
Looking forward to Krakow's future
The second stage of the New City project has entailed investments
to the tune of another 150 million euro. It has added two more hotels
to date. Office blocks will contain the total of 25,000 sq. meters of
top-quality floor space, while apartment buildings are to
offer 30,000
sq. meters of tenantable floor area.
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