The last few years have seen a string of modern office buildings, shopping malls, hotels and sports facilities springing up in Warsaw-the infrastructure the capital lacked in the communist era. Now the time has come for the redevelopment of deteriorating rail stations, streets, stadiums, main squares, parks and other urban spaces, as well as residential estates. This is accompanied by a major cleanup and modernization drive in the city.

Polish State Railways (PKP), the state rail carrier, has bold investment plans, including modernization of key stations in Warsaw. The somewhat shabby Centralny railway station, a visual throwback to communist-era drabness, will get a new look, as will the Wschodni, or eastern, and Zachodni, or western, stations.

There were plans to take the Centralny station down completely in order to provide space for the construction of a new 40-story office tower with a station on the ground floor. However, the latest analyses by experts have ruled this out, since such a project would require stopping rail traffic in central Warsaw. Moreover, PKP would not be able to complete such a project in time for the Euro 2012 European soccer championships, so the station will receive a facelift instead. PKP hopes to obtain European Union subsidies for the project.

In the case of the Zachodni and Wschodni stations, PKP will put up new buildings and promises they will blend with the existing cityscape.

In the vicinity of Wschodni station PKP has plots of a total of 16 hectares. The company is now seeking partners for Wschodni's redevelopment. Two plots, of 1.5 and 5 ha, are earmarked for office buildings, hotels and shopping malls. The investor who receives the right to build these will have to pay for the station's modernization in return.

The project is intended to give the station a more appealing look and increase its role in Warsaw urban transport, which is marginal today. This may be enhanced by the planned relocation of the Warszawa Stadion bus station to Wschodni area.

Interested investors can enter into negotiations with PKP by the end of February 2008. PKP will select its partner in two stages of talks by the middle of 2008. Later PKP will develop an architectural and construction project with the selected investors and then choose a contractor.

Work on the Zachodni station is also scheduled to be completed before Euro 2012 starts. In this area, the PKP holds 48 hectares between Jerozolimskie Avenue and Prądzyńskiego and Kolejowa streets. On the site of the present station, PKP plans to build a new one with rail tracks in tunnels and a 10-story building with offices, stores or a hotel.

The building will have around 45,000 sq m of space and the complex will also include a multistory park-and-ride parking lot for 800 cars. The investor will have to pay for the construction and may be given a share in the revenue generated by the project. PKP plans to select an investor by the middle of 2008 and start the project in late 2009 or early 2010, with completion scheduled for 2012.

PKP estimates that the project will cost several hundred million zlotys and will be complicated since the railway station will keep operating throughout construction works.

The construction of the office and station complex will be the first phase of the project. In the following phase, PKP's partner will develop land along Prądzyńskiego Street, where office buildings up to 30 meters tall are allowed in the urban development plan.

PKP has also developed modernization projects for the railway pavilions over the Ochota and Powiśle stations. Built in the 1950s and 60s, these buildings with original designs and distinctive roofs are considered pearls of avant-garde architecture. A tender is underway to select a contractor who will modernize the facilities while remaining faithful to the design of Arseniusz Romanowicz.

Only the frame of the existing buildings will be retained. New glass facades will be built and instead of plaster, stain-resistant terrazzo will be used.

New look for Krakowskie Przedmieście

Krakowskie Przedmieście, the most important historical street in Warsaw, is under renovation, with works in progress between Zamkowy Square and the Presidential Palace.

New gray granite slabs are already in place next to King Sigismund III Vasa's column. Works on Zamkowy Square are to be completed by the end of the year, along with sidewalks on the street's western side and the lanes up to the Presidential Palace. Works behind the Adam Mickiewicz statue and on the Skwer Hoovera area will be carried out at a later date since a retail and services building, designed by the JEMS studio, will be built in this area.

After the upgrades, pedestrians will have more room on Krakowskie Przedmieście. For example, the sidewalk in front of the Presidential Palace will be widened from eight to 13 meters, and in front of the Dom Polonii building from 10 to 26 meters. In front of St. Anne's and the Carmelite churches red granite will be laid. The Saxon Axis will be marked by a bronze slab. The stairs in front of the tenement houses standing above the Trasa W-Z tunnel will be widened.

Koneser and culture

The premises of the historical Koneser vodka factory are to undergo major redevelopment. A long-awaited investor has finally emerged. The numerous culture institutions based at Koneser feared the investor would drive them out of the premises, but the Warsaw Stock Exchange listed BBI Development (formerly NFI Piast) does not want to get rid of artists but create a place where culture and commercial functions will intertwine and complement each other.

The investor has presented a design concept for the entire Koneser premises of nearly 5 hectares. Most of the area will house commercial facilities, and 10 percent will be assigned for culture. The investor will build several-story luxury apartment houses, shopping space, restaurants, a hotel and offices. The area will be open to public. Two buildings of 6,000 sq m will be rented by the city authorities for galleries and cultural events. The Wytwórnia Theater will be moved to a former spirits warehouse, while its present premises will be demolished to provide space for offices, residential buildings and a hotel. The project is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Legia waiting for stadium

In early October a tender for the construction of a stadium on Łazienkowska Street in central Warsaw, next to the existing Legia club premises, was announced. Companies have 40 days to submit their bids, and then City Hall will choose the most interesting bids and give the bidders 40 days more to submit price proposals. The money for the project, zl.365 million, has been assigned in the long-term city investment plan. The city wants to select a contractor in January and would like to see construction works start as soon as possible.

The construction will be carried out in three stages so that the existing Legia stadium can remain operational. The works are to last 26 months, until mid-2010.

The new stadium will have 31,500 seats and access to it will be facilitated by the planned new intersection of Łazienkowska and Czerniakowska streets. A multistory garage and a hotel complex will be built nearby.

Copernicus Science Center

The tender for the construction of the Copernicus Science Center on the bank of the Vistula river has finally been announced. The facility will feature innovative technology and an interesting architectural form designed by the RAr-2 Laboratorium Architektury from Ruda Śląska. The project will be divided into two phases. The first section of the building that will host the majority of the center's permanent science exhibition is scheduled for completion in two years (after 16 months of construction). The other section, with a conference center and a planetarium, will be built over the following seven months. The building's construction will be financed by the city. The city's long-term investment plan sets aside zl.151 million for that purpose. Central government will provide zl.67 million for the center's furnishings. Some parts of the permanent display are already under development. It will be divided into seven interdisciplinary sections, and the first two, World in Motion and Man and Environment, are being developed by specialist companies from the Netherlands.

Construction companies have until Dec. 5 to submit their bids. In early January, the tender committee will select five bidders who will be invited to the second stage and will have two weeks to put forward bids. The winner will be announced in mid-April.