Panattoni Europe, Poland's leader in the industrial property market, laid the cornerstone in Sady (Tarnowo Podgorne municipality) near Poznań to commence the construction of a modern distribution centre for Amazon. The facility will take up more than 100,543 sqm, of which as much as 91,570 sqm constitute warehouse space, enough space to fit some 2,800 trucks next to one another!
On 18 February 2014 in Sady (Tarnowo Podgorne municipality) near Poznań the cornerstone was laid for an Amazon distribution centre. The ceremony was attended by Piotr Florek - Wielkopolska region Governor, Krzysztof Grabowski - Vice-Marshall of Wielkopolska region, Jerzy Stępień - Vice-Mayor of the city of Poznan, Jan Grabkowski - Head of Poznan County, Tadeusz Czajka - Mayor of Tarnowo Podgórne, Raimund Paetzmann - Amazon EU Real Estate Director and Robert Dobrzycki - Managing Partner for Europe, Panattoni Europe - the project developer.
Timothy Collins, Director or European Operations for Amazon, said "We are very excited to be investing here. This day signifies the beginning of an long relationship between us the and community of Tarnowo Podgorne and Wielkopolska region. We are greatly appreciative of all the support we've received for the community to make this multi-hundred million Euro investment become reality. The new facilities in Poland will play an integral part in serving our customers all over Europe, and we couldn´t be happier and more pleased with our decision to place them here".
Panattoni Europe's facility for Amazon near Poznan (Sady, Tarnowo Podgorne Municipality) will comprise 100,543 sqm. Of that, more than 91,570 sqm will be taken up by warehouse space, and in light of the plans to employ 2 thousand (up to 3 thousand) employees, office and staff facilities have been planned on two storeys taking up 8,972 sqm. The facility will feature 2,154 car parking spaces, 97 truck spaces, 32 handicapped spaces, 16 motorcycle spaces, and 60 reloading docks. The warehouse is under development in Sady near Poznań, approx. 2.5 kilometres from the expressway S11 and 16 km from the motorway A2. Due to the high headcount and to facilitate commuting by public transport, two bus stops will be built in the vicinity of the investment.
Construction works commenced at the end of last year and will continue until mid-August 2014, when the warehouse is to be commissioned. "I believe that the selection of our community as a venue for Amazon investment was a well-justified milestone. Our location, infrastructure and human resources will be of benefit to our growth and besides, the launch of new business activity by a big company in our community will significantly contribute to better life quality for all of its inhabitants" - Tadeusz Czajka, Mayor of Tarnowo Podgórne Municipality.
Robert Dobrzycki, Managing Partner Panattoni Europe, comments on the development of the distribution centre: "Poznań and its surrounding area constitute a dynamically growing market with a strong standing of the country's third location in terms of the existing warehouse space. It is also a market where Panattoni Europe has had some success, and that is why I am very proud that as a developer we can contribute to the continued growth of this region", adding: "Apart from the facility in Poznań, we are developing a project for Amazon in Bielany near Wrocław. The combined space of the two facilities will total more than 200 thousand sqm - which is an exceptional and unprecedented feat for a variety of reasons. It is not only the largest warehousing and logistics transaction for Panattoni Europe to date, but also a record-breaking one in Central and Eastern Europe. The cost of each of the facilities amounts to approximately EUR 65 M and, importantly - they will be built by Polish subcontractors".
Panattoni Europe is currently developing more than 343,000 sqm in Poland and the Czech Republic, including the facilities for Amazon, the 50-thousand-square-metre facility for Castorama Polska, the 33-thousand-square-metre BTS facility for Polaris, and the BTS in Kutno. The developer's own park in Łódź is also being extended. Since 2005, that is from the onset of Panattoni's presence in Central Europe, the developer has built more than 2 million sqm of modern industrial space. In 2013 Panattoni Europe delivered more space than any other industrial/warehouse developer - an impressive 90,000 sqm, as well as having the largest space under construction - 317,000 sqm out of the 713,500 sqm under development across the market. The market appreciates Panattoni's systematically implemented development strategy and has shown its recognition in numerous awards. The most recent include the 2013 Developer of the Year at the Eurobuild Awards, the Industrial Developer of the Year title at CIJ Awards 2013, 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 in the prestigious competition CEE Quality Awards.
