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Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway Tri-City’s real estate market on the new track Co-authors:
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway
Tri-City’s real estate market on the new track
Co-authors:
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 2
Dear Sirs and Madams,
In September passenger trains will start operating on the newly built (the first
in Poland after 1989) 18 km-long Kolej Kokoszkowska railway line. It will link
Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station with Lech Wałęsa international airport and Gdynia
with the southern and western regions of the Pomeranian voivodeship.
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna S.A. – a company acting on behalf of the
Pomeranian voivodeship – is the investor responsible for delivering this
infrastructure. New trains have been ordered to operate on the new line. The
total cost of the investment is in excess of PLN 1 billion and is the largest
investment being made by the Pomeranian voivodeship.
Rail transport is of key importance in the wider Tri-City metropolitan area.
Together with the modernisation projects of Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM),
which transports more than 34 million passengers annually, this mean of
transport is gaining in importance even more.
New infrastructure will be a significant growth-driver not only for Gdańsk and
Lech Wałęsa international airport (which is planning a new Airport City
project), but also for the southern and western parts of the Pomeranian
voivodeship. The regional authorities intend to fully integrate the new line
with the existing road and rail infrastructure of the cities it will go through.
Gdańsk may serve as an example of such an approach, where tram
infrastructure is being integrated with the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway
(PKM). This year a new section of tram line connected in such way will be
completed.
I am convinced that Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway will greatly influence
the socio-economic development of our region over the next few years, much
as the SKM did. Already today, the positive impact of the new railway is
clearly visible. In the close vicinity of the PKM, new investments, such as
residential projects, are starting to develop. One of the main reasons for this
is the proximity of passenger transport, which is crucial for that kind of
development.
We are pleased to present a publication that examines the impact of the
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway on the real estate market of Tri-City and its
wider metropolitan area.
Ryszard Świlski
Member of the Board of Pomeranian Voivodship
Pomeranian
Metropolitan Railway
(PKM)
Number
of trains
10
Frequency during
rush hours
15 min
Estimated annual
number of passangers
6,5 mln
Length of the new line
18 km
Number
of new stations
11
Topographic drop
130 m130m
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 3
Economy and Infrastructure
Crucial sectors of Pomeranian economy
In 2010, PwC and IBnGR published research titled ‘An investment
attractiveness analysis of the Pomeranian voivodeship’. It showed the six
main sectors of the economy that have the greatest potential to develop in
the region: logistics, BPO/SSC (Business Process Outsourcing / Shared
Service Centre), ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), the
energy sector, light chemicals industry, and the automotive sector.
Labour market
Approximately 60% of the working population of the Pomeranian voivodeship
is based in the wider Tri-City metropolitan area. This situation encourages
labour market specialisation, which leads to better resource allocation. The
unemployment rate in the region is well-below the averages of the rest of the
voivodeship’s subregions.
Employed* 875,000
Unemployed* 84,000
Working age popolation* 1,454,944
Unemployment rate** 8.8% (9.1% Poland’s average)
Source: Central Statistical Office Q2 2014, *Data for Pomeranian voivodeship,
**Economic Activity data
Dynamic changes of the labour market in the region have resulted in a
significant increase in salary levels. The average monthly gross salary in the
enterprise sector in the voivodeship is PLN 4,088 (as at H1 2014).
Infrastructure
Attracting new investments from the desired sectors requires new transport
and technical infrastructure. Often, existing infrastructure is vastly outdated
and needs significant improvements. The Tri-City is currently one of the
largest construction sites in Poland. In addition to the ongoing Pomeranian
Metropolitan Railway project, the key investment projects in the region
include:
Gdańsk and Gdynia ports development.
The state-of-the-art Deepwater Container Terminal Gdańsk provides
Pomerania with a direct connection with Asia through the Maersk Line
service point. It is worth mentioning that the new terminal is able to handle
the largest container ships with a capacity exceeding 18,000 TEU (twenty-
foot equivalent unit). In March 2013, Port of Gdańsk authorities and DCT
signed an agreement to further extend the DCT capacity to 4 million TEU.
In order to maintain its competitive edge, Gdynia port decided to improve its
capacity and transport infrastructure. In January 2014, Port of Gdynia
Authority SA. acquired the Gościnne quay from Naval Shipyard Gdynia
Poland, which will allow the port to build a new 480 m-diameter turn-table.
The next stage of the Gdynia port refurbishment is deepening the port
channel by 2 m from 13.5 m to 15.5 m. All these planned improvements will
allow Gdynia port to handle 380 m-long container ships of up to 14,000 TEU
capacity.
The Tri-City’s accessibility from Poland’s hinterland has improved greatly as
a result of the completion of the A1 motorway to Stryków and, more recently,
as a result of the new Pendolino trains, which have been operating since 14
December 2014. The journey from Warsaw to the Tri-City takes
approximately three hours and it is being operated by five trains which have a
maximum speed of 200km/h.
The tunnel under the Martwa Wisła river will facilitate transportation around
Gdańsk city centre and improve the accessibility of the Wyspa Portowa
island. It will not disturb the only waterway between the Motława river,
Martwa Wisła and the open sea. The tunnel will also reduce transit traffic in
Gdańsk city centre.
The Tri-City northern ring road. The northern by-pass is designed to
redirect transit traffic from the centres of Reda, Rumia and Gdynia and to
generate attractive investment areas along the regional transportation
corridors. The project will also improve the accessibility of the north-western
part of the Pomeranian voivodeship from the Tri-City and the rest of the
country, which is one of the priorities of the Development Strategy of the
Pomeranian voivodeship.
SKM station Gdańsk Śródmieście is a project that started in August 2013.
The SKM rail line will be extended by 1 km and a new station, Gdańsk
Śródmieście, will be added to the existing network. The station will be located
next to the Urząd Marszałkowski office and the planned Forum Radunia
shopping centre. The project also involves the construction of a new
integrated transportation hub. SKM Śródmieście is due to be completed in
March 2015.
Other investment projects
The Tri-City is an important historical and cultural location and therefore
invests in a range of projects in addition to infrastructural improvements.
Those projects refer to local history and genius loci and thus enrich the Tri-
City’s tourist and cultural attractiveness.
The European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk opened in August 2014. It was
co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund within the
Infrastructure and Environment Programme. The ESC, located next to
Gdańsk shipyard, has, due to its extraordinary design, become an important
historical and architectural symbol of the city. Moreover it is an interesting
point on the landscape of the Tri-City area.
The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. The idea for this
museum came to life in 2008. The mission of the museum is for it to become
an important institution that will show the wartime experiences of both Poland
and other European countries. The museum will be located next to Główne
Miasto and the Radunia channel. Its completion is planned for 2016.
The Emigration Museum will be located in the building of Dworzec Morski in
the Port of Gdynia. It will focus on the history of the emigration from Poland
and will combine exhibitional, educational and artistic functions. It is planned
for completion in May/June 2015.
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 4
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 5
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 6
Real Estate Market
The Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway (pol. Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna –
PKM) will not only improve the quality of public transport in the Tri-City area,
but will also influence the geography of the real estate market there. Similar
transport projects in other cities, in particular those involving rail, have been a
stimulus that inspired changes of both local and regional scale.
The PKM will open new areas of the agglomeration for investments, integrate
various means of transport and operate as commuter transportation for the
residents of the wider agglomeration. As a result of improved accessibility,
areas adjacent to the new stations will gain the potential necessary for them
to become attractive new locations for commercial and residential projects.
The rapid rail connection from Gdańsk and Gdynia to Żukowo, Kartuzy and
Kościerzyna will reduce travel time to Tri-City for the residents of the
Kaszuby region (almost 200,000 people live in the Kartuzy and Kościerzyna
poviats). Consequently, the mobility of potential employees for the Tri-City’s
offices will be enhanced. It is worth mentioning that the Tri-City office market
development is driven by the BPO/SSC sector. Most employees from that
sector are from younger age groups, who also happen to be the most
frequent users of public transport. The PKM will also provide a new influx of
potential customers for shopping centres located in Wrzeszcz, Gdynia and
the area of the Tri-City ring road. In addition, the new rail line will boost the
investment attractiveness of the municipalities located along rail line No. 201,
especially in terms of the residential market.
The following part of the publication looks into the growth potential of all the
real estate market sectors after passenger traffic has started on the currently
modernised Kokoszkowska line and line No. 201 from Gdynia to
Rębiechowo. For the purposes of this analysis and taking into consideration
diversity of the areas the PKM will go through, the line has been divided into
four separate sections, each of which share similar functions and real estate
market potential:
Section I: Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station – Niedźwiednik station
Section II: Brętowo station – Kiełpinek station
Section III: Matarnia station – rail line no 201
Section IV: Rębiechowo - Gdynia Stadion station (along rail line no 201)
Section I
Areas of Wrzeszcz and Oliwa are currently one of the gravity points of the
entire agglomeration. This is where the largest office hub and popular
shopping centres are concentrated (e.g. Galeria Bałtycka, Manhattan or
Galeria Metropolia currently under construction).
After the PKM becomes operational, Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station will gain the
largest significance as a commuter hub where the trains (at least in the initial
phase) will terminate. In Gdańsk Wrzeszcz passengers will transfer from the
PKM to the SKM and other means of public transport. The office buildings
and shopping centres in the station’s vicinity will be the obvious beneficiaries
of the increased inflows of passengers. As a result of passenger transfers
from the PKM to the SKM in Wrzeszcz, properties located along the existing
SKM line will also benefit indirectly from the new infrastructure.
Another area with growth potential is Strzyża station. The station is located
close to the university campus and a dynamically expanding modern office
hub. The accessibility of the area will be significantly improved by the
convenient transfer to the existing tram line, which looks set to reduce travel
time to real estate assets located in a vicinity of the Strzyża station.
From the commercial and residential property perspective, Niedźwiednik
station, situated next to the de la Salle roundabout, will be less impactful.
However, this situation may change after the new master plan, which is
currently being drawn up, is in place.
The new PKM line will clearly improve the accessibility of Wrzeszcz and
Oliwa for the residents of the Tri-City’s upper terrace. However, impact of the
PKM on the locations in the lower terrace will be fairly limited. This is due to
the fact that this area has already experienced extensive office and retail
development. Although the PKM will not serve as an initial development
stimulus, it will considerably improve the perception and prestige of the area.
Section II
Brętowo and Kiełpinek stations are located in difficult terrain featuring
significant height differences, which makes this section of the PKM almost a
mountain railway. Steep moraine hills have been a natural development
barrier for the city and the area features one of the lowest population
densities in the entire agglomeration. However, the area between the Tri-
City’s ring road and the lower terrace is becoming an attractive location for
residential development, which is, to a large extent, triggered by the
construction of the PKM.
The Jasień and Kiełpinek stations in particular will be major incentives for
residential developments in these previously inaccessible areas. It is
envisaged that the area located south of the PKM line, from the Wiszące
Ogrody residential area towards Wróbla Staw Pond and Myśliwska street will
be covered with residential developments similar to those already under
construction (small buildings of four to five storeys). Another possible
direction of development is to the north of the PKM line, next to Kiełpinek
station. Also, areas now occupied by numerous allotments surrounding the
Jasień area might be converted into residential areas in the future.
Brętowo station and its impact on the surrounding area has to be
considered from the perspective of multiple transportation changes around
the Piecki-Migowo residential complex. In addition to the PKM, a new tram
line will be connected with the PKM and new investments changing the road
network are planned for the area. All those improvements will influence the
attractiveness of the location, where new residential areas are expected to
emerge among existing developments. Another consequence will be
increased density of detached housing area of Matemblewo with both new
detached houses and small multi-family houses.
In respect of commercial development, this section’s potential is fairly limited.
Reasons underlying this situation include the difficult terrain, sparse road
infrastructure and limited number of residents in the area. However, the
Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway 01 January 2015
© COPYRIGHT. 2015. Jones Lang LaSalle 7
Auchan Gdańsk shopping centre will definitely benefit from the new station.
The centre is located right next to the Kiełpinek PKM station and the
Park&Ride parking lot, which will also be used by drivers travelling along the
Tricity’s ring road.
Section III
The areas located to the west of the Tri-City ring road will be, in our opinion,
the greatest beneficiaries of the PKM. One of the key priorities of the project
was to ensure a convenient link between Lech Wałęsa international airport
and Wrzeszcz. Thus all the areas surrounding the airport will become
attractive locations for investments.
Indeed, PKM development will further improve the potential of the areas
surrounding Lech Wałęsa international airport in terms of the office real
estate market. One major planned project in the area is Airport City, which
will focus on developing business infrastructure around the airport. Due to its
impressive scale, the project has been divided into phases. The PKM will
greatly improve working standards for the companies already operating in the
area, such as one of the largest IT employers in the city, Intel, which
continues to expand. The PKM will also be a great added value for office
buildings located right next to the airport, such as BCB Business Park and
SKAT: they will become more attractive for the potential tenants thanks to
their improved accessibility.
There is also great potential for industrial investments along the Tri-City ring
road. Currently, the largest amount of industrial buildings in the Tri-City is
located much further south than the PKM. However, there are vast plots of
investment land located in the area that are well-suited to that kind of activity.
Therefore, new PKM stations may be one of the key factors for production
companies searching for investment land. Good accessibility for potential
employees is an important factor when choosing location for logistics centres
too.
From the residential market perspective, in this section of the rail line the
impact of the PKM will be more long-term. The inflow of new employees to
office and industrial properties will be a stimulus for developing detached
houses in the areas of Matarnia and Kokoszki. In the longer term, new
residential complexes will start developing, especially in the immediate
vicinity of already existing housing.
Section IV
Simultaneously to the modernisation of Kolej Kokoszkowska line, rail line no.
201, which links Gdynia Główna with Kartuzy and further on to Kościerzyna,
is being modernised so as to handle commuter traffic. Ultimately, transport
links within the agglomeration should allow connections from Gdynia and
through Gdańsk airport to Wrzeszcz, thus ensuring convenient access to the
Tri-City for residents of Kaszuby.
Regardless of the final arrangements concerning traffic organisation in this
section, a few areas are likely to grow on the back of PKM.
From the commercial real estate point of view, areas surrounding Gdynia
Stadion station will definitely benefit from the PKM. This location is already
developed with office projects, such as Łużycka Office Park, Pomeranian
Science and Technology Park Gdynia, Tensor business park (currently under
construction), retail centres (Centrum Riviera shopping centre), as well as
sports facilities (Stadion Miejski, MOSiR, Arena Gdynia, the National Rugby
Stadium).
After the completion of Gdańsk Osowa station, the residential market looks
set to continue it’s growth in this district, in particular the area between
Koziorożca street and the rail line, which is where residential developments
are planned. Also, areas west of lake Jezioro Wysokie will become more
attractive for investors. It is believed that after the launch of the PKM, the
former prestige and attractiveness of Osowa may be restored.
Karwiny station will improve connections to Gdynia city centre, the airport
and Wrzeszcz for the residents of the Wielki Kack district. This location is
already an attractive area for residential developments and its potential will
be even greater after the completion of the PKM.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that due to the refurbishment of rail line No. 201
Gdynia will gain a direct and fast connection with the airport in Rębiechowo.
It will be an attractive alternative for other means of transport on that route.
Conclusions
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna will integrate all the other
means of transport in the Tri-City, in particular rail transport.
Wrzeszcz station will gain in importance, becoming a main
transfer point in the Tri-City agglomeration. New inflows of
passengers will use existing means of transport, such as the
SKM, which will lead to increased accessibility to properties along
the SKM line.
New stations will generate new locations for real estate
investments. The Matarnia, Kiełpinek, Jasień and Brętowo
stations will create areas for residential and commercial
investments, while the Wrzeszcz, Strzyża, Kiełpinek, Port
Lotniczy, Rębiechowo and Gdynia Stadion stations will further
improve the importance of already existing commercial hubs.
The PKM will increase the impact of the Tri-City in the south-
western part of the agglomeration and Kartuzy and Kościerzyna
poviats. It will be a stimulus for development of the real estate
markets in those areas and will increase inflow of potential
employees from the fringe of the agglomeration to its core.
The PKM will be one of the factors that will reduce automobile
traffic in the Tri-City by offering a sound alternative on the east–
west axis. The new fast and reliable means of transport should
convince a significant number of people to choose public transport
over cars.
jll.pl
Jones Lang LaSalle
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as to the accuracy thereof.
Co-authors
JLL
Magdalena Reńska
Associate Director
Head of Office, Gdańsk
ul. Kaprów 19/28
80-316 Gdańsk
Tel. +48 58 350 6262
Mob 48 602 116 816
JLL
Jan Jakub Zombirt
Senior Research Analyst
Research & Consultancy
ul. Królewska 16
00-103 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 318 0105
Fax +48 22 318 0099
REAS
Katarzyna Kuniewicz
Director
Zespół Badań i Analiz Rynku
ul. Belwederska 9/103
00-761 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 380 2125
Fax +48 22 380 2101
Invest in Pomerania
Magdalena Piechota-Sieczkowska
Specialist
ul. Arkońska 61
80-387 Gdańsk
Tel. +48 58 32 33 254
Fax +48 58 30 11 341
magdalena.piechota-
