Schneider Electric Polska has leased 7,000 sqm in Park Rozwoju - a modern ‘A’ class office complex which is being developed by Echo Investment on Konstruktorska Street in Warsaw. Colliers International acted as the agent in the lease transaction.

The contract with Schneider Electric Polska opens the leasing process in Echo Investment"s new office project in Warsaw. There will be approx. 700 people working in the office of Schneider Electric Polska. “We are very happy that Schneider Electric has chosen our facility for its new office. It is worth emphasizing that this global leader in energy management has been delivering equipment for the office and retail projects which have been developed by Echo Investment for many years. Its high standard and the quality of the solutions which have been applied in Park Rozwoju were being thoroughly analysed by the tenant during the selection process of Warsaw locations. Schneider Electric fits in with the sustainable development policy by focusing on ecological solutions. That is why we are very pleased that the offer of Park Rozwoju has been appreciated by experts who know sustainable development ideas and solutions inside out,” says Łukasz Żelezik, Senior Leasing Manager in Echo Investment"s Office and Hotel Department. “Our decision to change the Warsaw seat of Schneider Electric Polska resulted from the need to increase the office space for our fast developing organization and our willingness to consolidate all our employees in one location in Warsaw. Schneider Electric is one of the leaders in sustainable development and efficient energy management and it was really important for us to find a facility which would harmonize with the image and philosophy of our company. Park Rozwoju fulfilled our expectations best. The decision was made considerably easier by the mutual understanding and excellent cooperation with Echo Investment, which uses a broad spectrum of Schneider Electric"s solutions in their projects,” says Jacek Łukaszewski, President of the Management Board of Schneider Electric Polska. “The entire process was quite complicated because it required the consolidation of three locations, where leases expired at different times. However, the flexible approach of Schneider and the professionalism of Echo Investment helped finalize the transaction successfully,” comments Paweł Skałba, Partner at Colliers International, the Office Space Department. Schneider Electric is a global company which specializes in electric energy management and offers integrated solutions in many different market segments to its clients in over 100 countries all over the world. The company is a leader in the fields of energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation systems and data processing centres and has an extensive offer of products for residential construction. While concentrating on the solutions which contribute to increasing the security, reliability, efficiency and effectiveness of energy the company reached the sales revenue of EUR 22.4 bln in 2011. More than 130,000 employees of Schneider Electric are actively involved in helping individuals as well as organizations to "make the most of their energy". www.schneider-electric.com
Park Rozwoju consists of two buildings with green courtyards and a restaurant which is situated in the connecting area. The total office space in the complex amounts to 32,000 sqm. The buildings will have a two-storey underground car park as well as a ground-level one, which will offer a total of 740 parking spaces. The complex will include leisure and recreation areas: a courtyard with a water cascade and a canteen, internal enclosures with comfortable benches, green terraces on the roofs and an outdoor gym. Cyclists will have a garage with bike racks at their disposal as well as a changing room including showers. The new office project of Echo Investment is being built in the southern part of Mokotów, at Konstruktorska Street 10. The location provides quick and easy access to the Fryderyk Chopin airport and the city centre. The facility is surrounded by a well developed network of public transport: there are two tram terminals nearby and a bus terminal. The southern ring road of Warsaw and the Marynarska interchange provide convenient access by car. The architectural design of Park Rozwoju was created in the JEMS Architekci architectural studio. The architects adopted the idea of a complex consisting of two independent buildings. In order to provide convenience and security to its users the area of the complex has been divided into two sections: a public area and an area secured with an access control system. The traffic layout in the complex is clear and simple. The paths leading to the main entrances and the canteen are interwoven with enclosures and courtyards. The internal courtyards open to the green public areas which neighbour the facility from the east. There has also been an external courtyard designed, which will be the focal point of the whole office complex. The geometry of the buildings and their relatively low height made it possible to create a modern and yet small development. The facades of both buildings create a set of visually ordered stripes consisting of stone and glazed elements. The facade cladding has been designed in the form of overlapping stone slabs. During the design process the architects focused on the users" needs and the requirements related to operating the buildings, as well as the "new era" requirements with regard to public utility buildings, which take into account the sustainable development principles and enable buildings to fulfil ecological certification conditions. The office space has been designed as an open plan, which combined with good access to natural light will provide the users with the flexibility of interior design and very comfortable working conditions. In accordance with the current top standards, the offices will be equipped with raised floors, suspended ceilings as well as user-friendly lighting and air-conditioning. The office team responsible for Park Rozwoju obtained a BREEAM certificate, with a very good grade and the highest score in its category – 67.83 pct, already at the design stage. The official presentation of the certificate took place during the "Office Buildings in Poland" conference, which was organized on 25th October 2012 in Warsaw. Three office projects completed by Echo Investment also have GreenBuilding certificates, which they obtained earlier, they are: Oxygen in Szczecin, Park Postępu in Warsaw"s Mokotów district and the Astra Park office buildings in Kielce. Park Rozwoju is being developed in two stages. The first one is to finish in Q1 2014. The completion of the second stage of the project is planned for Q2 2015. In Warsaw Echo Investment is currently preparing for the construction of an office project in the city centre, at an intersection of Jana Pawła II Avenue, where a 155-metre office building with an area of 50,000 sqm has been designed. In October earlier this year the company bought a property at Taśmowa Street 10/12, where it is also planning to build a new office project.