Controversial investments in Dźwirzyn - further development of the coastline and unclear planning decisions.
Another waterfront development - The Elements Resort - is being built in Dźwirzyn, a seaside town in the Kolobrzeg municipality . The aparthotel is located "just 50 meters from the beach." The offer? 351 apartments ranging in size from 27 to 106 sqm, each of which will have a spacious balcony or terrace, and more than 75% of the units will provide sea views. The development will offer numerous amenities, including an indoor pool, spa area, gym, Kids Club, as well as a 300+ m² conference center. An additional attraction will be... a year-round ice rink.
Construction work began in September 2024, and is scheduled for completion in June 2028. The investor is Peninsula Property, whose portfolio includes the yet-to-be-opened Portside Bałtycka residential complex in Kolobrzeg and the already completed Galant Ząbkowska Apartments. The Elements Resort offers two investment models: purchase of an apartment for personal use or for rent. In the case of the second option, the facility will be managed by Peninsula Hotel Management, and the revenue split has been set at 70% for the owner and 30% for the operator.
Admittedly, under the "ecology" tab on the development's website, we'll be greeted by the slogan "Invest in The Elements Resort and enjoy low property maintenance costs," but as we can read further down, the building will be equipped with modern ecological solutions, such as a ground source heat pump, photovoltaic panels and a rainwater recovery system. The website itself greets us with the slogan "When investing is your element," and I'll honestly admit that if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I probably would have thought it was some kind of joke, an internet hoax meant to symbolize what's going on in northern Poland. The photos on the site are in part generated by artificial intelligence, which didn't work very well. In my opinion, the whole thing looks like a generic marketing product, standing on the edge of trustworthiness.
Screenshot from the Elements Resort website
Corruption scandal and impact on investments in the municipality
Dźwirzyno is another town that joins the not-so-glorious list of towns where shoreline development is taking place. This time, however, it's an interesting case, as it's not the only investment going into the strip. Previously, the parcel served as a leased yard, turning into a funfair during the summer season. Does the municipality have a local plan? Yes, its provisions even indicate the special importance of areas, including highlighting specific locally occurring species[1]. Entering the beach, you can't get the impression that you are in a naturally valuable area - the dunes are fenced off and marked with placards reminding you that this is a protected place. So you can't enter, but build yes?
A screenshot from Google Street View - a placard describing the ban on trotting onto the dunes
Dźwirzyno takes a rather controversial approach to space management. Looking at the map, we get the impression that successive developments are taking away the forest belt, creating a truly ridge-like structure.
A screenshot of the municipality's MPZP
It was in September 2022, however, that the biggest scandal occurred - six people heard corruption charges, including the head of the Kolobrzeg municipality, Włodzimierz Popiołek, and the former president of the Wroclaw-based pharmaceutical company Hasco-Lek, Stanisław H. Entrepreneurs were also involved: Michal M. and architect Jacek S., who exhibited. Charges were also brought against Kolobrzeg starost Tomasz Tamborski, who was alleged to have accepted a bribe in exchange for actions aimed at extending the deadline for issuing a decision on permitting the level of noise emitted into the environment from a geological works installation.
"Tomasz T. took actions to prolong the proceedings and allow the company to carry out drilling work for as long as possible, which had a negative impact on the environment, as well as on the operations of hotels and resorts in Kolobrzeg."
- Prosecutor Lorenc reported.
The CBA admitted that the purpose of the financial benefit was to gain favor in changing the zoning plan, which would allow a hotel project to be built in Dźwirzyno, on a plot of land that the pharmaceutical company already owns (a few numbers away from the apartment building described earlier). In order for it to be built, the Kolobrzeg Municipality Council approved, at the request of the then-owner of the Hasco group, a change in zoning conditions. The decision concerned an area with an acreage of 2.4 hectares, on which the investor planned to build a hotel with a recreational and rehabilitation section with a height of up to 35 meters. At the end of 2023, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin filed an indictment against these individuals in court. The mayor was arrested in connection with this charge (he was released on February 10, 2023) and ran for re-election, but did not enter the second round.
The visualization of this hotel showed a complex of two buildings, with a promenade to the sea between them. The new hotel would be built on the site of the current Colony and Recreation Center, which Hasco has owned for years. The venture was to be completed by 2024.
Interestingly, the controversial hotel, was to make use of thermal waters, and for this purpose, specifically for the start-up of a geothermal heating plant, 26.2 million zlotys of funding was obtained from the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund. Specialists from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow confirmed the presence of thermal waters in Dźwirzyno, with temperatures of 56°C. The thermal water was to be used in swimming pools, therapeutic treatments and also as a source of energy.
Geothermal drilling began in the spring of 2022. The work was supposed to be completed in June, but it took longer, and during the summer break many guests unfortunately experienced the inconvenience of the work. As witnesses recall, they lasted around the clock, causing noise, dust and dusting, as well as constant, noxious exhaust fumes. Owners of neighboring resorts were outraged that such work was taking place during the tourist season. It didn't take long for protests and interventions at a session of the Municipal Council. The councilors decided and obliged the investors to find a compromise in the timing of the work.
How will the new investments work out?
Currently, the municipality is quiet - the holiday season is still far away, information about the verdicts can be found in vain on the web. Only this year's January storm, which lowered the level of the beaches in many places on the central coast, including Dźwirzyno - may make you think. "Dune embankments have been blurred, sandy material has been washed away, and beach exits and descents have been washed away. We also note the fallen trees, both in the forest and on the beach," the storm damage article reads. "An investment 50 meters from the beach" probably doesn't sound so romantic anymore.
Magdalena Milert
[1] Kolobrzeg Municipality Council. (2021). Resolution No. XXVI/251/2021 of the Council of Kolobrzeg Municipality, dated March 30, 2021, on the adoption of the local spatial development plan of the Kolobrzeg Municipality in part of the Dźwirzyno precinct, within the boundaries of the plot with the registration number 765. Official Gazette of the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship, Item 1817 .
