Just like in Manchester and Dusseldorf as well as Cracow and Wroclaw, investment projects are finding their way back to the capital of Upper Silesia.

"It's a good thing that increasing weight is being attached to city center development," said Marek Wollnik, managing director of Metropolis Nieruchomości Komercyjne, the largest Silesian company specializing in commercial real estate services.

"A lively center has an impact on the quality and prestige of the whole city. This is clearly visible in European centers that have consistently redeveloped their municipal cores and drawn investment to downtown areas."

Meanwhile, locating a company in the modern downtown area of a vibrant municipal center boosts the firm's prestige. For this reason cities are trying to respond to increasing investor interest in returning to downtown areas.

In Katowice, the reconstructed center will concentrate not only business activities, but also offer retail trading and service space as well as housing with a total area of 140,000 square meters.

Particularly high demand is noticeable in the residential market segment. Over the past year alone, the prices of homes in Katowice have gone up by approximately 20 percent, about 10 percent in Gliwice, and up to 15 percent in smaller centers.

The growing interest of developers in building residential buildings downtown stems from the demands of a changing market. Economic growth is creating an expanding group of young, well-paid people who want to live downtown and fully benefit from the cultural and entertainment potential of a modern city.

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Source: the Silesia Voice