For the last five years, Panattoni has been growing the City Logistics sector, and up till now, it has delivered 560,000 sqm in last mile centres. In this sector, Warsaw is one of the most important markets and it is here that the developer has completed urban centres with close to 150,000 sqm. Today, BGK is supporting the growth of this urban portfolio having granted a loan worth €10.5 million for the development of City Logistics Warsaw IX. The project is to be built in Warsaw’s Targówek district and will comprise over 14,000 sqm.
“City Logistics is a sector with huge potential that can also be seen by banks and financial institutions. These centres are modern business platforms that are designed to suit the varied operations of a wide range of tenants. These are centres for last mile operations, for courier services for manufacturing facilities and more and more often they are being used as laboratories, showrooms and R&D facilities. Such versatility attracts tenants thus allowing them to get closer to the final customer and so such centres are becoming an important component of the future industrial space market. We are glad that financial institutions, such as Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, want to be a part of this solution for the future,” says Karina Trojańska, the Chief Financing & Operating Officer for Poland at Panattoni.
The versatility of urban centres attracts tenants from many different industries with many different types of operations such as logistics, e-commerce, manufacturing, servicing and laboratories. This potential is demonstrated by companies such as Inter-Mlecz, which has leased 6,500 sqm in the City Logistics Warsaw IX park that is currently under development. This distributor of some of the largest grocery brands is to use freezer and refrigeration facilities. The ability to develop space that could fulfil a strict temperature regime and the possibility of relocating the company’s operations from a nearby centre turned out to be the key advantages Panattoni had to offer as part of its partnership with Inter-Mlecz.
Through the development of City Logistics Warsaw IX, Panattoni once again demonstrates the attraction that Warsaw holds on the eastern side of the Vistula. The developer has already completed City Logistics Warsaw IV in Annopol, its largest urban development with an area of almost 40,000 sqm. One of the buildings has been fully leased out to TRUMPF Huettinger, which will use the centre to serve markets such as the US, Japan, Korea and China. This shows the huge potential of City Logistics in regard to the phenomena of nearshoring and Europe’s re-industrialisation. Access to labour is key to manufacturing firms and this includes access to highly qualified workers. Urban locations in areas of high population density that are also centres of education make an excellent match for these needs.
