Skyline Residential and BBI Development acquire Złota 44, the tallest residential tower in the EU – EuropaProperty

Dentons’ real estate team advised ORCO Property Group, an investor, developer and asset manager in CEE, on the sale of the Złota 44 residential tower in Warsaw to Skyline Residential Sarl, JV entity of American property fund Amstar, and Polish property firm BBI Development. The transaction value was €63 million.

192 meters high, with 54 floors and 251 luxury apartments, Złota 44 is the tallest residential tower in the European Union. It was designed by the acclaimed Polish-born American architect Daniel Libeskind and is located in the very center of Poland’s capital city, right next to the Palace of Culture, the Intercontinental Hotel as well as the Rondo I and Warsaw Financial Center office towers.

Construction began in 2008, but works were suspended in Fall 2013. Over these five years the investment has faced various challenges, one of which was the impact of the financial crisis on market conditions. The outside structure of the “Libeskind Sail” is nearing completion, but the overall project remains unfinished.

The Dentons team was led by Monika Sitowicz, a Warsaw based real estate partner, who has been advising ORCO on the Złota project as well as other hotel and residential projects in Poland for a number of years. She was supported by Jakub Sobotkowski, real estate counsel.

Monika Sitowicz said: “We are extremely pleased to have represented ORCO on the Złota 44 project and assisted them in completing the sale. This high-end, pioneering residential project has substantially shaped the new landscape of central Warsaw. At this final stage of the Złota 44 tower development, and with all the necessary permits in place, we wish the new owner successful completion of the project and look forward to the grand opening next year.”

BBI Development is to finalize the construction in Q1 2015 and will then manage and supervise the investment, and sell commercial space.