The city has issued a permit for the construction of a large apartment building in the midst of the intimate Dębnicki Square development. Although the development is in line with the planning documents for the area, residents of Krakow and the surrounding neighborhoods are strongly objecting to the construction of an oversized building that could overwhelm nearby low-rise townhouses and wooden sheds. What arguments do they have in their fight against the developer?
On December 23, 2025, Krakow-based developer Sipadan Development received a building permit for the construction of a residential and commercial building at Rynek Dębnicki in Krakow. The construction is to be no mean feat, involving the erection of a seven-story apartment building. Two of them will be underground floors, which will include a garage for 111 vehicles with an entrance directly from Dębnicki Square. On the other hand, 74 apartments are planned on the five above-ground floors, as well as commercial premises, which, according to the provisions of the local plan, should be located in the ground floor. In total, the building is to contain as much as 6,000 square meters of usable space. Who designed the building, which may stand among low townhouses and wooden sheds?
The authors of the project are Tadeusz Półchłopek and Bernadetta Półchłopek-Szczygieł from the ABP Autorskie Biuro Projektowe S.C. studio in Cracow .
An important area of our activity is projects in historic buildings and areas covered by the conservation zone. When designing in this area, we always want to properly use the potential of the place and the object while preserving and exposing the historical value.
they write on the studio's website.
Pawia Street in Krakow, on the right - Mercure Hotel - proj.: ABP Autorskie Biuro Projektowe
photo: mach240390 © CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
Indeed, the ABP Autorskie Biuro Projektowe studio's portfolio includes quite a few projects completed around the historic fabric. These include the completion of the development of the quarter between J. Dietla, Koletek and Sukiennicza streets (the Angel Wawel project), Browar Kleparz at 2 Zbożowa street (development of the surroundings of the Archduke Brewery in Żywiec Reprezentacja in Krakow) or the Mercure Hotel at the intersection of Pawia and Kurniki streets, as well as a large part of the buildings of Ignatianum University in the Wesoła district.
The main building of the Ignatianum University in Cracow - extension design: ABP Autorskie Biuro Projektowe
Photo: Ignatianum University © CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons
patodevelopment in historical costume
In the case of the planned construction on Dębnicki Square, it is not aesthetics or attempts to relate to the historical that will be the biggest problem. As a representative of the Cracow magistrate, Malgorzata Tabaszewska, assured for the LoveKraków portal:
The use of mosaic plaster, stoneware tiles, reflective materials, facade panels on the facades is excluded). Elements of architectural detail must not restrict the access of daylight to the rooms located in the neighboring tenements (13 Rynek Dębnicki and 18 Madalińskiego Street), nor obscure the decoration of their facades
Due to the inclusion of the entire area of Stare Dębniki in the Communal Register of Historical Monuments, construction works are to be carried out in cooperation with the Municipal Conservator of Historical Monuments. The project also complies with the planning provisions for the area. The Local Development Plan "Debniki" was passed on December 29, 2011. It is the one that creates the conditions for such intensive development at Dębnicki Market. For the area where the problematic plot is located, areas for commercial and residential development were designated, with a permissible height of new buildings of 16 meters. The rate of permissible development area is 60% of the plot area. Importantly, "the newly developed buildings must be characterized by a high architectural standard referring to the character of the historic neighboring buildings."
However, it is hard to believe that for both the MKZ and other representatives of the City Council, the size of the planned development will not be a problem. Instead, the problem is seen very clearly by the residents, who are protesting the construction, the scale of which is out of keeping with the immediate neighborhood.
Residents against the development of Dębnicki Market
On January 8, 2026, residents sent a petition to Krakow Mayor Aleksander Miszalski, appealing for action to protect Dębnicki Market from oversized development. The author of the petition is Dorota Leśniak-Rychlak. The contents of the document include the allegations that the author, and with her the signatories and signatories of the petition, have against the planned development.
The petition draws attention to potential problems with disruption of water management and hydrological systems, devastation of greenery, including felling of poplar trees overgrowing the plot, doubts about the mode and timing of the decision, which was issued just before Christmas Eve, December 23, 2025, as well as traffic difficulties.
The latter are also pointed out by many of those who signed the petition - as they point out, the section of Madalińskiego Street, located directly next to the planned construction, is already often jammed. An additional 111 cars (because this is the number of parking spaces included in the project) will certainly not improve this state of affairs. In addition to the inconvenience, the deterioration of the traffic situation around Debnicki Square also poses a number of risks - including in the event of a fire in the planned building or neighboring tenements, and for people attending classes at the Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, located on nearby Tyniecka Street.
A giant among tenements
The most important objection, however, remains the scale of the planned development. Sipadan Development intends to build its 7-story apartment building on a vacant lot on the east side of Dębnicki Square, between two historic tenement houses. Both buildings are included in the Municipal Register of Historic Places. Located on the north side, the building at Rynek Dębnicki 13 was built around 1893, the tenement at Madalińskiego 18 two years later.
Both originally had only two stories, the tenement at Rynek Dębnicki 13 gained a later one-story superstructure. The tenements located in the frontage on the opposite side of Dębnicki Market have mostly four stories above ground, with the last of them realized in the form of a low mezzanine. The role of architectural dominant in this environment is played by an Art Nouveau tenement from 1912, designed by Jan Zarzycki. Most of its facade, however, is obscured by the crown of a stately tree. The cubic capacity of the apartment building may be several times larger than most of the buildings at Dębnicki Market Square.
Tenement house at Rynek Dębnicki 8 - designed by Jan Zarzycki, 1912.
Photo: Zygmunt Put © CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
At the time of publishing this text, nearly 1,100 people have already signed the petition, and the number is still growing. The appeal to stop the scaled-down investment in Debniki can be signed on the petitionsonline website. Residents of nearby buildings, who have the right to appeal the construction permit decision, can also do a lot in this matter. Will this be enough to convince officials of the need to protect the intimate character of the development at Dębnicki Market? In view of the appeals that have been sent in, the matter will have to be considered by the Marshal of the Malopolska Region, and it will be up to him to make the final decision.
