More than 250 of Poland's top property professionals gathered at the InterContinental Warsaw on November 13 for the seventh annual CiJ Awards Poland to witness the presentation of a record 11 awards. In addition to the traditional property sector awards, there were three new Central and Eastern European prizes this year: the Best CEE Green Development, the Best CEE Hotel Development, and the CEE Investor of the Year.
In this tight credit environment, quality is rapidly becoming the primary currency of developers, as second-rate projects now have little hope of success. So it was fitting that this year the judges for the CiJ Awards Poland formed such an elite jury: Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director, Ghelamco; Jane Durrant, Managing Director, Euromost Polska; Aleksander Domaradzki, Partner, DGL Polska; Hadley Dean, Managing Director, Colliers International; Grzegorz Trawinski, Head of Corporate Banking Poland, Eurohypo; and Matthew Freney, Managing Director, MT Development.
The Best Residential Award, sponsored this year by Fletcher & Reichel, was won by the Saritor Park Phase 1 in Kraków, which the jury praised for its location, commercial success and the peaceful living environment which it created.
Hadley Dean of Colliers was on hand to present the Best Warehouse Development prize, in which the nominees were schemes by Poland's best known developers in the sector. In the end, it was Panattoni Park Pruszków that took the top prize for its execution of a project offering excellent access and a high level of specification.
The Best Shopping Center award was sponsored by Eurohypo, and Grzegorz Trawiński was on hand to make the presentation. He said the winner for 2008, Galeria Alfa by JWK Inwest, took the honors for going beyond the standard in terms of its architectural design, its success in attracting a quality tenant mix and for the fact that it has established itself as a true shopping destination.
Lipowy Office Park by Hochtief Project Development won the highly coveted Best Office Development, a prize sponsored by ABS. The jury found that the project had managed to secure quality tenants by producing a building with a high level of specification with efficient, flexible floor plates.
The final Polish development prize to be handed out on the night was the Best Overall Development. While many were hoping to walk away with this particular prize, it was Jeroen van der Toolen, director of Ghelamco, who went onstage for his company's Marynarska Business Park. This award was sponsored by Panattoni Europe.
The regional awards then followed, beginning with Best CEE Hotel Development. In this case the prize was taken, somewhat surprisingly, by the Czech Republic's Red Group for its Park Inn Ostrava. While there was tight competition for this award, in the end the developer was commended for an excellent and imaginative execution of a business hotel, but also for its courage in bringing such a product to a secondary city, as well as for the positive impact it's having on Ostrava. The award was presented by Stewart Coggans of Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality, the sponsor of the prize.
Another non-Polish scheme, ProLogis Park Užíce outside Prague, collected the Best CEE Green Development prize for its aggressive sustainability program and in recognition of the company's role as a pioneer of sustainable development in the industrial sector. Hadley Dean was again onstage to present the plaque as Colliers International was the sponsor of the award. The CEE Investor of the Year for 2008 was deemed to be DEKA, which enjoyed substantial successes despite an extremely challenging transaction environment.
Robert Dobrzycki of Panattoni Europe may not have been overly surprised to have won the industrial award this year, but he was at a complete loss for words when he was called back to the stage to accept the Personality of the Year prize. Clearly moved, he managed to say little more than, “Thank you!”
Another repeat appearance was put in by Jeroen van der Toolen of Ghelamco, who was able to claim the Developer of the Year award for a remarkable third straight year. Ghelamco managed not only to complete a successful development this year but also sold assets, all in the toughest year Poland's property market has seen to date. The award was presented by Markus Leininger of Eurohypo.
The Agency of the Year award, however, went to a company that has never picked up the prize in the previous six editions of the awards: DTZ. The company has had excellent leasing accomplishments this year, but has also greatly increased its retail business.