The development of more areas of Gdynia's Downtown Marine Area is slowly becoming a reality. The new office and residential buildings of the Waterfront complex are nearing completion. It is also already known what the public part will look like. This is because the investor has applied for a building permit for a multiplex cinema, a cultural pavilion and two hotels.
Śródmieście Morskie - that's the name of the new district growing in the center of Gdynia, at the interface of the land and waters of the Gdansk Bay. The waterfont area, which is intended by the city's authorities to become a showpiece of the city, is gaining an urban character after having served an industrial function for years. The first projects, such as the Yacht Park marina apartment buildings on the Fisherman's Pier (project: Arch-Deco) are ready, while others still remain on paper, such as the complex of three Marina Office buildings (project: S.A.M.I. Architekci).
References to modernist architecture
The largest investment is being carried out by Vastint Poland (known, among other things, for the construction of the successful Riverview development in Gdansk, designed by APA Wojciechowski). The first stage of the Gdynia project, completed in 2015, stood next to the distinctive Sea Towers, built in 2009. A Courtyard by Marriott hotel and an office building were built then.
The development concept for the second stage, a five-hectare site within Washington, Hryniewickiego and Jana Pawla II streets, was prepared by JEMS Architekci studio, selected in a 2016 competition. This part of the project started in 2019 and is divided into two zones: residential and office and public.
Gdynia Waterfront - in the foreground, the public part; on the Kosciuszko Square side there will be a cinema and hotels
© Vastint
Thesimple architecture of the current stage, is to refer to the modernist buildings of Gdynia. A walkway will run down the middle of the new development, which will lead from the business and residential part directly to the main square of the complex by the tourist Kościuszki square.
The newly designed buildings harmonize with the modernist architecture of Gdynia. In the creation of public spaces, classical elements creating the so-called soft borders - such as arcades and pergolas - have been used here, thanks to which it corresponds with the surroundings. The public, yet intimate character of the urban interiors is characterized by a human scale, conducive to the creation of a good atmosphere and "life between buildings." - Marek Karzyński, then Director of the City of Gdynia Spatial Planning Office, said after the competition was decided, justifying the competition court's decision.
Public functions from Kosciuszko Square
While the residential and office part is already under construction, for the public part the investor applied for a building permit on September 1 this year. He also presented the latest visualizations. This part is called the public part, because on the side of Jana Pawla II Avenue and the popular Kosciuszko square a cultural pavilion is planned, a central square, and a multiplex cinema will also return (the Gemini Center building previously located here was demolished). Two hotels will also be built: the first, with 160 rooms and a spa under the Moxy banner, and the second, with a conference center and 142 rooms, whose operator is not yet known.
Passages, restaurants, cafes are planned on the first floor
© Vastint
We will start work as soon as we receive building permits, and it will take two years , Ewa Lydkowska of Vastint tells the A&B portal. - The architects have ensured that the space will be welcoming, full of greenery, restaurant gardens, with views both from the city and from the sea.
first things first: apartments and office buildings
Meanwhile, on the construction site of the residential and office part, work is in full swing. It will be formed by two six-story buildings located in the second building line from the waterfront. A total of 145 residential and commercial units and 133 underground parking spaces will be created. And, along the frontage of Washington Street, two office buildings with a total rentable area of nearly 14,500 sqm.
Construction of the Gdynia Waterfront complex
© Vastint
We estimate that the advancement of works is 75-80 percent, and the buildings will be ready in mid-2024 , Ewa Lydkowska announces.
According to the estimates of the city's urban planners, after the realization of all the investments carried out and planned in the area, Gdynia's downtown will almost double in size. Moreover, there will be nearly 15,000 residents and 11,000 employees.
