A new housing estate may soon be built in picturesque Konstancin-Jeziorna, full of greenery and historic architecture. A settlement for 10,000 residents, which proportionally is more than half of the current population. The investor has already presented construction plans, but the mayor is bracing himself for a fight.
A settlement out of proportion to the city
For those who have found peace and quiet in Konstancit-Jeziorna, the prospect of a sudden almost doubling of the population, with no overall planning of space.... It sounds like a nightmare. But unfortunately, the chances of a garden city, Konstancin-Jeziorna becoming a second Miasteczko Wilanów, are quite good as of today.
I confirm, we are in the process of purchasing the former paper mill sites in Konstancin-Jeziorna. It is too early to talk about our plans. But it's land with huge potential, we are trying on such a city within a city here," Wladyslaw Grochowski, president and owner of Arche, answers Gazeta Wyborcza.
What does this really mean? Is it possible to build a housing development that will not only demolish the landscape, but also the entire structure and character of the city?
Valuable areas of a historic plant
Arche, acompany known primarily for building apartments and hotels in Warsaw, announced to the media (Property Insider website) back in early May 2021 that it had entered into a preliminary agreement to purchase 56 hectares on Mirkowska Street in Konstancin-Jeziorna, over which the characteristic chimney of the historic Stara Papiernia plant towers. This is not only a huge part of the city, a green area, but an element of history inscribed in the fabric of the city. It was here that a paper mill operated since 1740. Paper production on an industrial scale lasted for years giving jobs to many residents. Currently, the plant has been relocated to Lower Silesia, and the land is going under the hammer in stages.
More than ten years ago, the asking price for the land along with the abandoned industrial buildings was set at PLN 110 million. The contract with the Arche development company is for €13.1 million, or about PLN 60 million at today's exchange rate. Why did the land lose value?
Experts explain that it largely depends on the development plan, which absolutely does not allow the construction of apartments, and as in the days of its use - industry. A decade ago, that is, after the closure of the paper mill, the authorities began activities to change the structure of the plan, planning to allow a new use, which already then divided not only the city council, but also the residents themselves.
Effects of the workshop 2012 | Charette Urban Planning Workshop organized by the studio © Mycielski Architecture & Urbanism
A modern shopping center arranged in 2002 in the post-factory buildings of the Royal Paper Factory allowed at least some of the abandoned buildings to serve the city's residents. Ten years later, in 2012, a workshop was held(the Charette Urbanism Workshop organized by the Mycielski Architecture & Urbanism studio) to develop a concept for restructuring not only the buildings, but also the grounds of the former factory into a multifunctional complex that would benefit the city and its residents. Plans included a hotel, restaurants, a modern marketplace, as well as a museum, galleries and educational and cultural space. It promised to be great. The only thing missing was an investor...
effects of the workshop 2012 | Charette Urbanism Workshop organized by the studio © Mycielski Architecture & Urbanism
mayor protests
In January, representatives of Arche asked me for a meeting," says Konstancin's mayor Kazimierz Jańczuk in an interview with GW. - At that time they presented a concept for the revitalization of the Metsa area and neighboring areas, which they also want to buy. They promised to renovate historic buildings, build their own headquarters, service facilities, hotels, as well as multi-family and single-family houses. They estimated that some 10,000 people could live there. There can be no approval for 10 thousand people. The whole of Konstancin-Jeziorna has about 17 thousand residents. Mirkow's traffic system is already inefficient, and if thousands of people lived there, there would be a paralysis. I'm not even talking about social infrastructure, schools, kindergartens. As if such a huge block of flats were built, we would lose the character of a resort community.
The protest of the city authorities does not mean that Konstancin-Jeziorna does not remain open to investment. However, the greatest value for Konstancin-Jeziorna lies in investments, such as they used to be, giving post-factory areas new functions, with care for the history and DNA of the city.
results of the workshop 2012 | Charette Urbanism Workshop organized by the studio © Mycielski Architecture & Urbanism
development plan a lifesaver?
When asked about the solution to the problem, the city authorities announce they will change the development plan for the area. But why only now? Allowing the construction of housing for some 2,500 residents, the mayor promises to preserve the proportions and character of the city, to ensure that the post-factory space fits into the development plan. Will it work? But there remains the risky aspect of the lex developer law, which would allow Arche to interpret the revised development plan in a way favorable to itself, meeting urbanist standards and providing new schools, among other things. But as it turns out, not every city wants to get bigger and bigger. And the green city of Konstancin-Jeziorna is just that exception. An application under the lex-developer mode, may be rejected by the municipal council anyway, despite the conditions met.
Why do we need to protest at all, couldn't the development plan for such a valuable space for the city have been created before a private investor planned a giant housing development there? The lack of a developer friendly to the original concept is probably not the only reason for the delays.
