Tishman Speyer Properties of the US has signed a contract with Polish State Railways (PKP) for 12 hectares of land next to Krakow's main railway station, paving the way for the long-delayed, multimillion-dollar Nowe Miasto commercial project, the weekly Warsaw Business Journal reported on Monday, May 6. "We are pleased that we've finally reached the agreement," Torben Nielsen, TSP's director for Central and Eastern Europe, said. TSP has been waiting to begin construction of the $300 million first phase of the retail, entertainment and office complex since December, when the project was cast in doubt due to problems acquiring land from PKP. TSP still needs to sign deals with state-owned bus carrier Pekaes and Poczta Polska, which own the remaining two hectares of property slated for the project. Nielsen would not say when he expected those agreements to be reached. Meanwhile, some property insiders have said that the 80,000 square metres of retail and leisure space, as well as 22,000 square metres of class-A office space planned for the first phase may be more than the market needs. TSP is also planning a four-star hotel with 240 rooms, a multi-screen cinema, sports facilities, and above ground parking for 2,400 cars.

(NewsBase 07.v.02)