In the heart of Warsaw, right next to the city’s modern icon, the Varso Tower, a vast concrete square stretches out. Instead of the imposing skyscraper that was supposed to complete the capital’s skyline, there is a plain, neglected car park in this strategic location. The history of the site, located opposite the Central Station and on the corner of Jerozolimskie Avenue and Jana Pawła II Avenue, is full of missed opportunities and postponed plans.
For years, this plot of over two hectares held the promise of a spectacular transformation. In 2015, the then owner of the site, Polish State Railways (PKP), through its company Xcity Investment, presented an ambitious vision. The Centralna Park project envisaged the construction of a 220-metre skyscraper to stand adjacent to Varso Tower, together creating a new, vibrant centre of Warsaw. The visualisations promised modern architecture, fitting in with the dynamic character of the area. However, in 2017, these plans were abruptly suspended following changes in the management of PKP. With no official announcement of the cancellation, the Centralna Park project disappeared from Xcity Investment’s website, and with it hopes for a rapid metamorphosis of this key area. What’s more, the company’s other ambitious railway projects in the capital have also been suspended, including the construction of high-rise buildings at the Western and Gdanski railway stations.
Centralna Park. Photo: PKP press materials
For several years, the landscape at the corner of Jerozolimskie Avenue and Jana Pawła II Avenue has been dominated by the grey concrete of the car park, sometimes obscured by large advertising billboards. According to PKP S.A. representatives, the plot is currently leased to an external entity running the car park and there are no plans to sell it. This raises the question: will such a prestigious location forever remain a car park? The PKP’s answer seems to point to more years of waiting. The company explains the suspension of investment plans by the need to coordinate with the reconstruction of the cross-city line planned by PKP PLK S.A.. The renovation, which is due to start next year and will take at least four years, will also include this area.
Paradoxically, in the plans for the reconstruction of the cross-city tunnel, there is a point concerning the reinforcement of the slab structure covering the tunnel directly under the plot of land in question. This could provide an ideal opportunity to start work on the foundations of the future skyscraper at the same time, minimising future disruption and costs. Unfortunately, the opportunity is unlikely to be seized and, according to PKP reports, any construction work on the site will not begin until the end of the decade at the earliest. The situation is also being closely followed by the investor of the neighbouring Varso Tower, HB Reavis. The original intention was for the two projects to be built in parallel, with plans including extending the pedestrian walkways connecting the two plots to create a coherent and welcoming space. The company has been in contact with PKP since the beginning of Varso Tower’s construction and initially explored the possibility of participating in the aesthetics of the car park, but these initiatives have also failed to yield concrete results.
Parking at Varso Tower and its fate thus remains uncertain. In the centre of the dynamically developing capital city, in the vicinity of the tallest skyscraper in the European Union, a large concrete wasteland still haunts. Although the prospect of rebuilding the cross-city line offers a potential opportunity for change, it seems that we will have to wait a long time yet for concrete decisions and the realisation of ambitious plans.
Source: warszawa.naszemiasto . pl, pkp.pl
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