Over 3,000 sqm office space at ul. Kapelanka in Krakow, owned by Echo Investment, is a new, temporary home for 300 people who escaped from war-torn Ukraine – especially mothers with children. The developer has prepared, retrofitted and adapted to the needs of the stay, the space which has been handed over to the management of the City of Krakow and the Krakow branch of the Municipal Social Welfare Center.
Thousands of people affected by hostilities in Ukraine faced the difficult task of seeking refuge outside their homeland. In the face of the humanitarian crisis, Echo Investment quickly made a decision that it wanted to help refugees in the most obvious and natural way – by providing them with a roof over their heads. In cooperation with the City of Krakow and the Krakow Municipal Social Assistance Center (MOPS), the developer launched accommodation for war refugees in the office part of Kapelanka Passage.
“The city of Krakow faced a huge challenge which is to accept such a huge group of war refugees from Ukraine. The resources at our disposal were used very quickly. Therefore, acquiring a place such as the building at Kapelanka Street is very valuable to us. It would not be possible if it were not for the openness of Echo Investment, which not only made office space available, but took on the full burden of adapting to the needs of people who will be staying here,” says Witold Kramarz, director of MOPS in Krakow.
“Our common task is to provide a roof over our heads for thousands of refugees from Ukraine. That is why we decided to prepare for them the office spaces at our disposal, and in cooperation with the local government administration, we would create a refugee assistance center here. We have already prepared such a space in Warsaw and we are preparing it in Łódź. In the preparation of the center at ul. Kapelanka in Krakow has involved many employees of Echo Investment. Adaptation works, appropriate space arrangement, retrofitting the living and sanitary areas required the input of many of our specialists. Together with the Krakow branch of MOPS, we have created a functional and safe space for our guests,” says Rafał Mazurczak, member of the management board of Echo Investment.
The center, which was established at ul. Kapelanka is ready to receive nearly 300 refugees. There are full sanitary facilities at their disposal with kitchens, showers, laundry and dining room, as well as doctor and psychologist appointments. From 23 March, mothers with children will live here, which is why Echo Investment and MOPS have created a play space and computer rooms for them.
Echo Investment also invited its business partners to cooperate in the creation of this space. Whirlpool, NTT and BB Media were also involved in equipping and organizing the space.
The area ready to receive refugees, along with sanitary facilities, is handed over to the MOPS, which will manage the space provided. The costs of utilities and access to the fiber-optic Internet are covered by Echo Investment.
So far, Echo Investment has already organized over 1500 accommodation places for refugees in the Warsaw Empark, and is also working on places for over 200 people in the React office building in Łódź. In their offices in Kielce and in Warsaw, the developer’s employees also collected several hundred items for children: cosmetics, diapers, cleaning products, personal hygiene products, bed linen, food and toys.
