The current situation in the Polish warehouse space market, its growth and dynamics, is increasingly forcing developers to constantly look for land for investment. They are increasingly opting to develop speculative space in order to ensure faster availability to tenants, which in turn generates the need to look for more investment land.

The very process of acquiring investment land and its preparation for the implementation of the investment is a multi-stage process, and even in the most delicate scenario takes the investor several to several dozen months. Shortening this process is possible in a situation where the land is covered by a Local Development Plan or favorable Development Conditions have been obtained, the necessary administrative approvals and conditions for utilities from the network operators. It is worth noting, however, that most investments in the industrial and warehousing sector require a number of additional arrangements and approvals with authorities examining their impact on the environment. At this stage, specialized analyses are often required, which lengthen the investment process, and obtaining an Environmental Decision for the planned project is a milestone in its implementation.

Making investment land more attractive

Therefore, it is very important to determine at the initial stage of the investment process the exact parameters of the target object, possible to implement on the site in question. This will help to properly prepare the land for investment and improve its attractiveness. Favorable provisions in the Local Development Plan, obtaining the necessary documentation will certainly shorten the decision time of the target buyer and positively influence the process of possible negotiations. So very important in this situation is the appropriate selection of an advisor who knows the needs of the market and the prevailing trends. He or she will help select an action strategy and minimize costs, bringing out the best from the potential of the investment site location.

Recent years have shown increased interest in centers with less importance and less purchasing power, but well connected to other parts of the country and located at major transportation hubs. Smaller cities with a large number of workers ready to take on new jobs, mainly located in the eastern areas of our country, are becoming attractive to investors. Often land in these cities is even waiting for investors, but it should be carefully prepared to meet the requirements adapted to modern warehousing and industry.

Land owned by individuals mostly requires a series of activities to make the area in question more attractive. Properties owned by companies or partnerships, which have often acquired land for investment purposes or the development of their own facilities, are seen as much more attractive by developers or investors. Nowadays, one can see a trend of buying and developing former brownfield sites or even sites degraded through previous activities. Developers are no longer afraid of demolishing old buildings or replacing land contaminated by years of operation, however, when the price is adequate to the necessary costs to be incurred. All this makes it increasingly difficult to find land with potential and prepare it for the investment process at the present time. This is certainly helped by the implementation of new road networks, which in recent years have allowed new regions of the country to open up to potential investment. In many cases, however, the appropriate strategy of local governments and landowners is crucial to attract investors.

It is often the case that attractive land belongs to local authorities, that is, to municipal authorities (municipal property) or to the County Office (they manage State Treasury land). However, in the case of a desire to acquire such property, it is necessary to win a tender organized in accordance with the provisions of the law and the Law on Real Estate Management, but this is a topic for another, separate article.