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A RT I C L E
The class into which a given project is classified should also be reflected in the price paid by the
tenant for leasing space in a building. Over the years, there have been many attempts to define
each class and specify in detail the criteria that must be satisfied for a project to be assigned to
a given class. All these attempts are designed to standardise the system and develop one inter-
pretation of each class for all participants in the commercial real estate market.
Attempts to standardise
For a building to be classified to a given category, it must meet a number of quality and location
criteria. In 2000, the Warsaw Market Research Forum (WFR), which brings together key com-
panies in the commercial real estate sector, developed standards according to which the classifi-
cation of buildings was to be made. Back then, Warsaw was divided into only three districts: the
strict centre, the centre and locations outside the centre. Now, Warsaw is divided into 10 zones.
To clearly separate class A office projects from class B projects, a catalogue was created of
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criteria for determining the standard of a building. Class A office real estate had to meet
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of them. The most important criteria included a location providing very good com-
munication and easy transport. Interestingly, one of the guidelines was to have ceramic
tiles in toilets and kitchens. In those days, a class A building had to be equipped with air
conditioning, humidity control, have a height of 2.70 m calculated between a suspended
ceiling and the floor and access to two independent power sources. Parking spaces were
also an issue – a class A office building had to provide tenants with a suitable number
of them. Office projects in a central location had to have a 1:70 ratio of parking spaces,
while the ratios for the strict centre and locations outside the centre were determined
respectively at 1:100 and 1:25 to 1:30, while 1:50 was also acceptable for properties lo-
cated outside Warsaw’s central area.
It’s (not) as easy as A, B, C
A brief history of the
classification of office buildings
The classification of office buildings have always aroused emotions. Users of commercial space commonly apply
a classification that aims to segregate office projects into better and worse
