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In December 1999 works were completed on the conceptual plan for Warsaw further development. The first cohesive city plan for many years has been drawn up for the next 10 to 20 years. This concept, called the News Spatial Policy, divides the city into zones by their function and development possibilities, it specifies plans for the expansion of the road and transportation system and engineering infrastructure, designates sites for new constructions, and precisely defines limitations on buildings' height and density.
Warsaw has large reserves of land which makes planning new construction much simpler. Some of the areas that will undergo major changes in the next few years are Defilad Square, Port Praski, Łuk Siekierkowski, and the region around Gdański Train Station. Brisk growth in the service sector, the expansion of banks and the influx of foreign companies are all factors encouraging investors to concentrate on office space. The detailed conditions for the development of sites acquired either in perpetual usufruct, by right of prescription, or leased, are established by the individual boroughs.
Soon, the largest building site is for Złota Centre, located between the Palace of Culture and the Central Railway Station. It will include a giant car park, a modern bus station, a hotel, a congress centre, shopping and office space.
Important institutions from abroad are present on the Warsaw property market, like ING Real Estate, ETC, Skanska International Building AB, Bouygues, FIM , Mahler International and Ilbau, Reform Company, ITT Sheraton. Increasingly, often Polish sources of investment, banks like PKO BP, PKO SA, BRE, BGŻ or insurance companies like PZU SA and Warta, contribute to large-scale projects. These domestic financial institutions are building their own offices here, and are olso organising consortia to finance the operations of other Polish companies. The others, for whom the property market may not be the cornerstone of their business but who need a central office in the capital, are also participating in development. The rate of return is around 11 percent.
Investors hitherto involved in office construction are now turning their interest to residential projects. The larger and more luxurious the flat, the shorter the period of return on the investment in purchase or construction. There is much demand for luxury apartments since many foreigners hold temporary positions in the representative offices of oversea companies and international organisations. Sale prices go as high as 2,000 dollars per sq m and up.
There is a great demand for stores and retail spaces in Warsaw as well. Warehouses are concentrated in the south of Warsaw with a particular emphasis on the Poznań and Katowice highways.
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