Although Balcerowo remained outside the city structure, it was closely connected with Gniezno, both in historical and administrative terms. In 1851, the intention of the Prussian authorities of Gniezno was to enlarge the city area by including nearby suburbs, including Dalki and Balcerowa. Financial reasons meant that this project was not implemented.

In the 1880s, a significant part of the Balcerowo farm was purchased by the company Grabski, Jeschecki & Comp., Which in 1882 built and launched a sugar factory (Zückerfabrik). The resource facilities for the factory were surrounding villages and estates. At the end of the 19th century, at the entrance to the sugar factory, the impressive administration building was built, and on the opposite side, in a park surrounding, a residential palace - the owners' apartment. The buildings were erected in the neoclassical style (today marked as Wrzesinska St. 28 and 29). In the Grabski palace, a hunting hall and a collection of paintings by famous painters attracted attention. In front of the palace, from the east, the park was decorated with a magnificent fountain, and from the west with a conservatory with exotic plants (built in 1927). From the 1939 war, the palace was not inhabited by legitimate owners.

After regaining independence in 1918/1919, the period of stagnation started in Gniezno during the years of partition. The sugar factory was subject to a small, but systematic modernization. Smaller factories were built on the land in the northern part of Balcerowo, i.e. the Mill Mill and the Waberski Brothers Carriage Factory.