After a two-year break caused by the pandemic, the MIPIM fai – the world’s leading real estate event – has started in the French resort of Cannes. The prestigious event and forum for the exchange of ideas annually attracts key players, in particular investors, city and regional authorities, architects, developers, funds and banks, companies from the logistics and transport sector, and industry organizations. Investors constitute almost a quarter of the participants. Traditionally, the event is attended by a strong Polish representation.
Due to its global reach, the MIPIM International Real Estate and Investment Fair has a significant impact on the modern investment and real estate market. This is the most important meeting of the leaders of the real estate sector in Europe. The first MIPIM in Cannes took place in 1990. During the ceremonial ceremony at the Palais des Festival – the MIPIM Awards 2022 jury will present prestigious awards for the best development projects.
This year’s edition, lasting from March 15 to 18, is the largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. There are conferences, networking events and presentations by speakers, including former French President François Hollande. It is also an opportunity to establish new relationships with business partners who are looking for locations for their investments. On an area of 22,000 sq m, 3,800 exhibitors from 100 countries meet. The event is used to present new products and discuss the global trends of the sector.
This year, Ukraine was to be represented at MIPIM by a large delegation of key entities and organizations from the domestic real estate sector, which were to present projects in various regions of the country. Due to Russia’s illegal aggression, all Ukrainian guests had to cancel their trip. Now they are busy defending and fighting for freedom.
This year, the main theme of the fair is “Driving Urban Change”, i.e. the transformation of cities, changes taking place in them and challenges for the sector recovering from the pandemic, looking for a way for more sustainable development.
A rich offer of cooperation from Poland
The situation related to the war in Ukraine is very unique and creates new challenges for our region. We cannot disturb the continuity of projects that are very important for the development of Poland’s economy, as well as prepare for long-term assistance to Ukrainian refugees and changes in the domestic construction market.
Poland is one of the Top 10 countries most represented on MIPIM. Representatives of the entire spectrum of the wider real estate market are present: across the board development companies, architectural studios, consulting and tax companies, law firms, and investment funds and banks.
Local governments have also come to Cannes. The list of registered participants includes: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Katowice, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Sopot, Warsaw, Wrocław. Łódź presents key mixed-use projects that support its transformations and create new business opportunities. WiMa Widzewska Manufaktura is a project by Cavatina Holding, which will restore the splendor of 140-year-old buildings and a 100-year-old park. A friendly place for living, working and recreation will be created here.
The Tri-City, which is one of the main commercial real estate markets in Poland, also presents its great investment potential. The “Invest in Pomerania” brand includes PPP projects, attractive plots of land for hotels, apartments, recreational facilities and research centers. Sopot presents an investment offer related to the tourist and prestigious character of the city, including the center of the resort and the areas at the Hippodrome and Ergo Arena. Gdańsk has prepared a package of as many as 17 investment offers presented by the commune and its municipal companies: real estate for apartments, services, hotels and recreation. An interesting offer is the revitalization of Nowy Port in Gdańsk, which the city wants to implement using the PPP formula. On the other hand, Gdynia presents a perfectly connected area in the vicinity, among other places, on the ring road, the Tri-City Landscape Park and residential buildings. The area may be intended, for example, for a university campus, a science or health care center for the elderly, along with housing facilities.
The promotion of Kraków during the fair is focused on large projects such as: Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłość, Kraków Airport, Kraków Nowe Miasto and Wesoła. In addition, this year the city of Krakow presents three interesting proposals for cooperation: construction of the “Kazimierz – Ludwinów” pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the Vistula River, construction of the headquarters of the City Guard of the City of Kraków and the Kraków Music Center.
The capital, Warsaw, has been presenting itself at the fair for many years as a city friendly to both investors and residents. This year’s message is: “Warsaw – smart people, smart technology, smart city”. Together with the city, 11 partners present their offers: BBI Development, CMT Sp. z o.o., ECHO Investment, Ghelamco, HB Reavis, Karimpol, Mayland Real Estate, Polski Holding Nieruchomości, Skanska Property Poland, Unibail Rodamco Westfield and Vastint. As part of the capital’s support for start-ups and the creative sector, their representatives were given a chance to present themselves at MIPIM.
“Warsaw is an open and friendly city. The office market in the capital is very attractive, today it offers over 6 million sq. m. of space. Investors invest in the capital because they also have access to highly qualified staff here. It is not surprising then that Warsaw is chosen by them increasingly often. This is also because every year the capital offers an rising quality of life to its inhabitants. We want to strengthen this image, while presenting ourselves in Cannes as a significant investment alternative for Western European cities,” Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw, said.
The Share Space company, as well as items and gadgets from Warsaw designers, are present at the Warsaw stand. This year’s offer from the city includes 6 investment plots: in Bielany, at J. Słowackiego Street (3271 sq m) and Krzemieniecka Street (6152 sq m) and at ul. Kasprowicza (4,589 sq m), in Wola at Burakowska Street (8,259 sq m) and Grzybowska Street (1,397 sq m). The largest plot presented by the city in 2022 will be a plot in Mokotów at the intersection of Jana III Sobieskiego and Beethovena Streets with an area of 15,453 sq m.
On the other hand, the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis presents itself in Cannes at a joint stand with the Silesian Voivodeship and the City of Katowice. for production and service activities.
MIPIM Awards – “Real Estate Oscars”
During the ceremonial ceremony at the Palais des Festival in Cannes, the MIPIM Awards 2022 jury will present prestigious awards for the best development projects. 45 finalists have been selected representing the world’s most outstanding real estate projects, featuring ground-breaking innovation, architecture, environmental performance, integration, and community and environmental impact.
The jury, chaired by François Trausch, president of Allianz Real Estate, analyzed hundreds of applications and selected the best projects in each of the 12 competition categories. The winners of the “Construction Oscars” will be announced at the MIPIM Awards Gala on the evening of March 17 this year. In addition to the jury’s ratings, the votes of the participants of the MIPIM 2022 fair constitute half of the votes that will ultimately select the winners of the competition.
“The projects selected for the MIPIM Awards 2022 largely followed this year’s theme of the fair, ‘making changes to cities.’ not only more sustainable, but also more accessible and fun. The greatest impression on the jury was made by the diversity and creativity of the submitted projects, the hallmark of our European cities and an important factor for the buildings that are being built today for the community of tomorrow,” says Trausch.
Browary Warszawskie is the only Polish project awarded this year in the Best Mixed-Use Development category. It is a city-forming complex built by Echo Investment in Warsaw. The JEMS Architekci studio was responsible for its architectural design. An almost empty plot with an area of 4.4 ha has been fully used, creating a living part of the city, with three modern office buildings, five residential buildings and four historical buildings: the Brewhouse, the basement of the Lagerhouse, the Fabrykanta Villa and the Laborator.
