Rozbrat 44a in Warsaw is becoming history. The former SLD headquarters will be replaced by an office building

Demolition work on the building at Rozbrat 44a will begin any moment now. It is already known that the former headquarters of the Democratic Left Alliance will be replaced by a modern office building. Changes will also be visible at the rear of the property, where an old hotel and pavilion are located

The property was built in the 1930s for the Higher School of Journalism. During the German occupation, the building housed a uniform and equipment warehouse, captured by insurgents on 10 August 1944. The building was extended with a wing on the north side after reconstruction from war damage. After the war, it housed various institutions of the Polish United Workers’ Party. In 1999, the Democratic Left Alliance found its headquarters there

The building of the Higher School of Journalism just before the war. Source: National Archives in Warsaw

In 2011. the then head of the party put the property up for sale. It was bought by the Radius company, along with an eight-storey former hotel and a pavilion on Szara Street that once housed the Syreni Śpiew club. The property is currently owned by the X Point Powiśle company, which intends to demolish all the buildings, for which it already has a conservation officer’s permit. An eight-storey office building will be constructed at Rozbrat 44a, with a service part on the ground floor. The new investment will be similar in size to the current building of the former Journalism School

The building at present and in visualisation. Source: Nowa Warszawa and Google Maps

The total office space of the new development will be around 4,400 sqm, while the retail and service area is 700 sqm. A 2-storey car park with 50 parking spaces is planned under the building. The Atelier Tektura office is responsible for the architectural design. Demolition work will last until the end of the year. Then, construction of the office building, which will take two years, will begin. The entire building is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2025. An apartment building, designed by BPA Projekt Adam Wagner, is to be built on the site of the former hotel deep inside the plot. The building is to include a swimming pool, gym, spa complex, concierge, and each flat is to be serviced directly from the lift. Prices are to start at PLN 55,000 per sqm. The start date of this investment is not known for now

Source: nowawarszawa.pl, urbanity.pl, businessinsider.pl

Read also: Architecture | Office buildings | Metamorphosis | History | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland