Panattoni Europe and Castorama – cornerstone laid under 50,000-square-metre central warehouse in Stryków.

The ceremony took place on 27 August 2013, on the warehouse construction site. It was attended by: the Mayor of Stryków – Andrzej Jankowski; project developer – Panattoni Europe, represented by Robert Dobrzycki – Managing Partner for Central and Eastern Europe; Krzysztof Maśny, Supply Chain Executive Castorama Polska; and Iwasaki Masanori, General Manager and President of Kajima Poland as well as the representatives of AIG Lincoln, former owner of the land.

The ceremony during which the groundbreaking plaque, signed by the Mayor as well as the developer and investor, was consecrated and laid was performed by: the rector of the Roman Catholic Church of John the Baptist and St Dorota in Dobra, Rev. Marek Pluta PhD, and the rector of the Mariavite Old Catholic Church in Dobra, Rev. M. Szczepan Orzechowski.

Panattoni Europe’s investment for Castorama Polska – the country’s largest chain of construction and home improvement hypermarkets, the so-called DIY sector, owned by the UK-based retailer Kingfisher – is the biggest in the warehouse property sector since the beginning of 2013. The new facility will feature 50,000 sqm, which makes it one of the biggest spaces ever built. Other record-breaking projects include: 80,000 sqm of total development space for Hennes & Mauritz Sp. z o.o.; a facility dedicated to Tesco featuring 57,000 sqm, as well as the 56,000-square-metre logistics centre for Leroy Merlin. All of the above were developed by Panattoni Europe, for whom the contract with Castorama Polska is another large-space lease contract with the DIY sector. The transaction was mediated by the real estate firm Colliers International.

According to Robert Dobrzycki, Managing Partner for Central and Eastern Europe Panattoni Europe: “This is a highly important and prestigious investment for us, as well as for the whole sector. It shows not only growth opportunities for the development sector, but also the immense endeavours and contribution of Castorama Polska into the DIY boom in Poland” adding: “Stryków is a location that is strategic for us as well as our clients, acting as a hub – one of Panattoni’s largest distribution centres with space built and leased in excess of 100,000 sqm. This investment has been made possible thanks to our partners: Colliers International, which contributed greatly to signing the contract; the architects of Ferma Kresek; and also Kajima, our trusted general contractor – for which I am thankful to all of them.”

The facility in Stryków will be used by Castorama Polska as a modern logistics centre, with a warehouse section accounting for as much as approx. 49,220 sqm, adapted for the purposes of effectively managing supplies from various sources. The remaining section of more than 780 sqm will serve as modern office space.Krzysztof Maśny, Supply Chain Executive at Castorama Polska said: “We are the leader in the DIY market in Poland. At present, we have 72 stores countrywide. To facilitate the management of diverse supply sources and optimise warehousing and transport costs in such a large chain, we have decided to build a new logistics centre. The warehouse under construction in Stryków will enable us to maintain product availability at our stores around the country, while the scale of our operations is expanding. Extensive product range, professional service, lowest prices and instant product availability are our strengths.”

The location of the new investment for Castorama Polska is not random. The tenant’s central warehouse will be built in Stryków – one of the top locations on Poland’s warehousing map. Panattoni Europe’s share here exceeds 100,000 sqm of space developed and fully occupied, and in combination with the nearby facilities in Łódź the developer has already built 294,150 sqm in Central Poland alone. It is the proximity of Łódź, as well as major transportation routes – motorway junction on the A2 (Stryków II), and the road no 71 (Zgierz-Stryków) near the national road no 14 (Warszawa-Łódź) that make for the new warehouse’s excellent connections with the rest of the country. At the same time, with Łódź some dozen kilometres way, the facility will be able to tap into the abundant local labour pool.

The facility for Castorama Polska is just one of four investments currently executed by the developer, to a total of 133,000 sqm. Since 2005, that is from the onset of Panattoni’s presence in Central Europe, the developer has built more than 1.9 million sqm of modern industrial space in Poland and Czech Republic. The market appreciates Panattoni’s systematically implemented development strategy and has shown its recognition in numerous awards. The most recent include the Tenants’ Prize for the Best Logistics Park 2013 awarded at EASTLOG 2013 to Airport Logistic Park and the title of the Industrial Developer of the Year 2012 as part of the prestigious competition CEE Quality Awards (CEEQA).