If anyone has seen the construction site for apartments at the former Lubicz Brewery in Krakow, I would love to hear comments.
I received information through email from an agent but since I won't be there till May, I am curious as to the "word of mouth" about the project.
Thanks
greg
No personal knowledge about it. Have a look on Streetview.
maps.google.com/maps?q=Centrum+Biurowe+Lubicz&ll=50.064933,19.949374&spn=0.001123,0.00327&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&fb=1&hq=Centrum+Biurowe+Lubicz&cid=0,0,947568521343145538&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=50.064933,19.949374&panoid=Wa36wYCy7NovNjGXkqTk9A &cbp=12,268.82,,0,0.62
Its as central as you can get without being in the old town, very good location for transport. I would not choose to live next to streets with trams and trains though, noisy as hell. Especially there, its very busy with traffic as well.
How much does it cost?
I was in the sales office yesterday. Phase 1 (building A & B) are supposed to be finished in July 2013, but it doesn't look like PORR (the contractor) will achieve this, depending on how they define "finished". For me this is getting the final occupancy permit.
The tram is not an issue as long as you don't choose the north facing apartments next to Lubicz side.
The location is superb - 3 mins walk to Gal Krakowska, 5 mins walk to the planty and 8 minutes walk to the Rynek. Not close to the river is one downside.
Negatives: Administration charge is high in my opinion - although not 100% set yet, storage space in underground is very expensive at 5000 zl / m2 inc VAT, and underground parking is close to 50 k inc VAT, buying off plan can be risky, ceiling heights could be higher at 2.6 and 2.72 depending on building, no other facilities except for those retail units that rent the space on the ground floor, apartment finishing is shell & core (basic).
The other possibly quite serious down side is that there is Phase 2 and phase 3 (office) that are yet to start construction, so unless it is managed very well, then you could be living next to a building site for 2 or 3 years. Something I did not ask the sales office about as only dawned on me afterwards.
The prices seem reasonable compared with Parkside (very close) and, say, Angel Plaza, on the secondary market. I would definitely prefer it to Angel City which is on the other side of Galeria Krakowska, which also has quite a few for sale on the secondary market and still some left from the developer. You also might like to look at the new development przybulwarze.pl behind Gal Kazimierz, by a Spanish developer - good location next to (for me) the best (not so big, new'ish, nicer class of people) shopping centre in Krakow - Gal Kazimierz, it is slightly less central but has benefit of being 100 metres from the river.
Back to Browar - The architect is MOFO, which is a young'ish firm with a good reputation in Krakow.
I heard from a very reliable source (not the sales office!) that around 20% of the apartments have been reserved or prelim signed, but mostly studios or 1 beds.
PORR is a large and strong contractor, the SPV is Balmoral Properties, which I've never heard of but apparently the equity comes from a guy who made money in accounting software, and was at one time the 12th richest person in the Sunday Times Rich list with £1.2 billion , but has recently slipped quite a lot, down to around 70 million, if memory serves. Google "Gordon Crawford Times Rich List" for some articles.
