SEB Bank – a leading Nordic financial services provider, will move to the mixed-use complex of the Norblin Factory by the Capital Park Group, currently being developed in Warsaw’s Wola district. The company will occupy 3,300 sq.m. of office space. The tenant was represented in the negotiations by the Colliers agency.
SEB Bank will occupy modern office space on the entire seventh floor in building B. This space is a modern extension built over the existing historic post-factory halls of the former Norblin, Buch Brothers and T. Werner factory. The office space in the Norblin Factory is developed according to the original concept made by the Capital Park Group, named OFFICE+, which provides for the creation of a unique workplace tailored to the needs of tenants. This idea, already successfully implemented in other facilities owned by the developer, combines high-quality architecture, ecology and sustainable development, greenery and quality of the surroundings, as well as art and culture in common spaces, and a wide range of services dedicated to tenants.
SEB is a leading northern European financial services group, with a history dating back to 1856. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB offers financial advice and a wide range of financial services while in the other Scandinavian countries, as well as in Germany and the United Kingdom, it mainly focuses on corporate and institutional banking. Thanks to its international network, SEB is also present in places such as New York, Beijing, Hong Kong and Moscow. In Poland, SEB mainly serves its corporate clients from local markets and assists them in liquidity management, investment financing, foreign exchange transactions, trade finance, as well as in issuing bank guarantees and providing other financial advisory services. At the beginning of 2020, SEB established a Global Business Center in Poland as a part of the Polish branch of the bank. The center is a center of excellence and a talent pool of specialist knowledge, cooperating very closely with the headquarters and local markets.
Mikael Overgaard, Head of the SEB branch in Poland: – The history of our company is over 160 years of tradition and values that guide us in the SEB Group. Our activities focus on a wide and comprehensive offer for corporate and institutional clients.
We follow the principles of sustainable development and we take actions for the benefit of the societies in which we operate. That is why we are glad that our new Polish office will be located in a modern building, created with respect for the environment, following global design trends, and at the same time caring for tradition and cultivating the beautiful history of former factories. These were the factors that determined the choice of the Norblin Factory for our new headquarters – says Lilia Bonka, Head of Global Business Center at SEB.”
The office part of the complex will house also such tenants, as Allegro.pl (16,200 sq.m.) and the Global Business Services Center Japan Tobacco International (8,500 sq.m.). The retail part of the Norblin Factory will include e.g. BioBazar – the first market in Poland offering only organic products, a food hall with themed sections and 26 original restaurant concepts (3,200 sq.m.), and a number of restaurants with waiter service. The revitalized space will also become a cultural destination, owing to such concepts as a boutique cinema with seven screening rooms (3,300 sq.m.), offering movies selected in cooperation with the Directors Guild of Poland. Visitors will be also able to enjoy live music in the Piano Bar, and a music and concert club will be set up in one of the historic halls. The first fully interactive and digital art gallery in Poland – ART BOX Experience – will take up the area of nearly 800 sq.m. there. To commemorate the history of the factory at Żelazna Street, the investor has created the Norblin Factory Museum. The museum exhibits will primarily be the relics of the former factory – both post-industrial halls and the preserved production line. Visits the museum will be guided by means of four multimedia routes: People, Architecture and Buildings, Machines and Devices, and Products.
The planned completion of the investment project is the third quarter of 2021.
The location in the new business center of Warsaw, at the intersection of Żelazna and Prosta streets, the exceptional architecture and the post-industrial area vibe make the Norblin Factory a unique place for tenants to operate. We carefully select our business partners who will contribute to the atmosphere of the revitalized space. It is extremely satisfying for us that the global leader in financial services has decided to cooperate with us, and we are proud to welcome SEB bank among the tenants of the Norblin Factory – says Kinga Nowakowska, the board member and operational director of the Capital Park Group.
The Norblin Factory will provide its future users with 65,000 sq.m. of usable area, with offices taking up 41,000 sq.m. of space, and with the remaining 24,000 sq.m. filled with entertainment, culture, food, service and retail concepts.
For convenience of visitors and workers of the complex, a 3-level underground parking with 720 car parking spaces will be provided. Moreover, the underground part of the parking will house the first Polish fully automated bike parking with 95 spaces, and the office workers will be able to use additional 200 bike parking spaces and locker rooms. The buildings are equipped with a number of eco-friendly solutions that were pre-certified with BREEAM “Very Good” rating in the design phase.
Capital Park Group is the investor and initiator of revitalization of the Norblin Factory. PRC Architekci is responsible for the architectural design, Warbud SA is the general contractor, cooperating with such companies, as Soletanche Polska, Maat4 and TKT Engineering. Monument Service supervises all conservation works on monuments.