For children growing up in Cracow during the 1980s, the half-built tower was known simply as Skeletor. It loomed over the eastern part of the city with all the mystery of a gothic stronghold, inspiring all kinds of fanciful tales about sword-wielding anti-heroes.
Twenty years on and the high-rise oddity remains very much the same. Like a sort of ghoulish scarecrow hovering over the city. Until now that is. Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza has brought news that a major investor has snapped up the property with the idea of creating a hotel, offices and flats.
The building and the surrounding plot have been purchased for 30 million zloty by the Cracow firm GD&K Group, itself with the backing of Swiss company, Verity Development. Gazeta Wyborcza reports that the latter has a significant backer in the Saudi Royal Family.
At present it is not confirmed whether the surviving structure can be transformed or whether a new structure will have to be built from scratch. GD&K representative Szymon Duda speculates that the hotel could be open in three to four years time.
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