Neon, the fourth and final stage of the Alchemia office centre in Gdańsk, has received its occupancy permit. This marks the completion of Torus’ decade-long investment project that has brought over 122,000 sq. m of leasable space to the Tricity office market.
The largest and, so far, most important investment project for our company has come to an end. When we were setting out to commence construction of Alchemia stage I almost 10 years ago, where in addition to office space we would put swimming pools, a gym and a sports hall, the real estate industry looked upon us with disbelief. We have managed to show office buildings from a different perspective – landmarks developing in the city centre, high-quality and technologically advanced, with accompanying retail services. The market has appreciated our effort, which has been reflected by both our tenants and the curiosity of investment funds. A certain period in the Torus history has ended, but we have plenty of new challenges ahead. We have already secured land for over 120,000 sq. m of office space as part of several locations in Tricity. Officyna and Format area already under construction, with more projects under way
Sławomir Gajewski, Torus President of the Board
NEON
Neon offers over 35,000 sq. m of leasable space, including 33,500 sq. m of office space. The area of a typical office floor in Neon measures over 3,000 sq. m, but the lease offer includes modules from 300 sq. m. Retail and service areas on the ground floor of the building will occupy over 1,500 sq. m. The space between Neon and its Alchemia sister building, Argon, will form a pedestrian throughway, creating a unique space to meet, eat and unwind. The building will provide 319 indoor and outdoor parking spaces for vehicles and 374 spaces for bicycles (with lockers and changing rooms). Much like its sister stages, Neon is certified under the U.S.-based LEED system, at the highest level – Platinum, currently in the pre-certification phase. When Neon’s construction began, the date for obtaining its occupancy permit was projected for mid-November 2019, yet we have managed to obtain it sooner. The building is an architectural and functional continuation of the entire office complex.
ALCHEMIA (general)
Alchemia had been under development for almost a decade – its construction began in 2011, though the design had been proposed much earlier. Alchemia’s subsequent stages were opened every two year: Stage I (Aurum & Platinum office towers, with the sports & recreation zone) in 2013, Stage II (Ferrum & Titanium office towers) in 2015, Stage III (the Argon building) in 2017, and Stage IV (the Neon building) just recently. The investment project, built on the site of a former chemical plant, has decisively changed the urban character of the Gdańsk suburb of Oliwa and contributed to its development. Alchemia features over 122,000 sq. m of leasable space, with 112,000 sq. m of office space – 1/6th of the entire office space market in Tricity! – and 10,000 sq. m of retail space. Every building in Alchemia is certified under the U.S. rating system for highly efficient buildings, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, at the highest rating - Platinum, with one of the highest scores in Poland. Alchemia was designed by APA Wojciechowski Architekci, with LEED certification consultancy provided by Architects&Consultants / AVA Agnes Vorbrodt&Associates.
ALCHEMIA (trivia)
- SPORTS & RECREATION: 4,600 sq. m - the area of the recreation/sports zone in Alchemia, which includes swimming pools, saunas, gym, sports hall and an indoor climbing zone. The entire zone has seen 1.5m individual client entries since opening in 2014.
- RESTAURANTS & RETAIL: a rich array of over a dozen eat-in and take-away stores (restaurants, cafés, bars). These include both popular chain brands (Subway, Starbucks, Gorąco Polecam Nowakowski, Thai Wok) as well as proprietary businesses (Alchemia Wina, Sugoi Sushi, Officyna, Enjoy food & life and City Cafe). In addition, there is a hairdresser and massage parlor, and, soon, a physiotherapy clinic and a childcare facility/preschool for 120 children.
- PEOPLE OF ALCHEMIA: It is expected that some 12,000 people will call Alchemia their workplace. According to PBS research, approx. 80% of Alchemia workers are 35 or younger. 40% commute by the SKM railway and 21% come to work by bicycle.
- SKM TUNNEL: On 29 May 2014 we opened the new subterranean passage under the SKM Przymorze-Uniwersytet train station that connects the University of Gdańsk and Alchemia to the other side of the train tracks. The investment, which also included a lift for the disabled and less mobile, has greatly added to the comfort and security of all SKM commuters in the area. The entire investment cost 2.8m PLN and was paid for by Torus.
- BICYCLE AMENITIES: Alchemia offers 1,400 indoor and outdoor bicycle parking spaces. Every building contains its own changing rooms with showers and lockers. Next to the Aurum tower is a bicycle self-serve service point and a little further is a Mevo city bike station. Torus runs its own cycling educational and informational campaign, ‘Rowerowe Love’, which features free bicycle servicing and gadgets for all bike riders, spreading awareness of the bike amenities in Alchemia and the health benefits of cycling to work.
- ARGON-NEON THROUGWAY: the upcoming throughway will become Alchemia’s spine – a place to meet, eat and unwind, where office workers will cross paths with University students and local residents and pedestrians. It will contain minor landscaping, comfortable benches, greenery and small trees. The entire décor was designed using exotic Bangkirai wood that can be found in India, Malaysia and the Philippines.
- APIARY ON THE ARGON ROOF There are five honey-yielding beehives on the roof of the Argon building, housing approx. 500,000 busy bees.
- TORUS TRIATHLON IN DA HOUSE: the one-of-kind winter triathlon competition held entirely indoors in Alchemia. There have been five editions so far, with the event formula prioritising business and employee networking. The core of the competition has company-sponsored, five-member relay teams composed of employees. Each event raises also money for charity.
- KEY ALCHEMIA TENANTS: OFFICE: State Street Bank Polska (leasing the entire Titanium tower), Lufthansa Systems Poland, Alexander Mann Solutions, Thomson Reuters, Wipro IT Services, Kemira, Dynatrace, MOWI, ONE, Hapag-Lloyd, Damen Engineering Gdańsk, Nippon Seiki, Wirtualna Polska, Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe; RETAIL & SERVICES: Officyna, Sugoi Sushi, Alchemia Wina, Subway, Starbucks, Pizza Pasta & Basta, Gorąco Polecam Nowakowski, Enjoy Food&Life, City Cafe, ING Bank Śląski, Credit Agricole, including companies that run Aquastacja and Sportstacja; Zdrofit, KIDS&Co, Body&Mind Clinic, Thai Wok.
- BUILDING SALES: The first three stages of Alchemia have been sold to investment funds. At the beginning of March, Argon (stage three) was purchased by a Philippines-based investor, the ISOC Group. The value of the transaction amounted to approx. EUR 92m net and is by far the largest in the history of Torus and the Tricity office market.
