News from 02/11/2008
Frankfurt: Construction permit for new ECB building
The double-tower project on the grounds of the old „Grossmarkthalle” (“Great Market Hall”) in Frankfurt’s Ostende (East End) district has overcome a further hurdle. Frankfurt's construction authority has just issued the partial construction permit applied for by the European Central Bank (ECB). This means that both the “permissibility of the entire
construction project as a matter of principle” and the excavation of the pit for the 177 m tall two towers and the two underground garages are thus approved the city
disclosed. The new headquarters of the ECB on the
120,000 sqm building lot between the banks of the Main river and the Sonnemannstrasse will have a gross floor area of 190,000 sqm. Construction costs will be approximately €470mn. Work is to commence during the next months and be completed during the last quarter of 2011.
HSH Nordbank: Property loans sold at 30% discount
In selling property loans or €7.6bn, HSH Nordbank
had to accept high discounts. The weekly newspaper Wirtschaftswoche (“Economic Weekly”) reported that the bank gave, in part, discounts of 10 to 30% on the nominal value. In an interview with Wirtschaftswoche, the investment banker of a major international bank termed the transaction a “bargain.” Last week, HSH sold a loan portfolio in three parts to Hypo Real Estate Holding AG (€2.6bn), BNP Paribas SA (€2bn) and Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.
(€3bn).
Hamburg: Construction authority area to go to Garbe for €46.9 mn
The Garbe Group in Hamburg wants to acquire the Hamburg construction authority land at the “Stadthausbrücke” (“Town Hall Bridge”) for
€46.9mn. On the area between Neuer Wall and Grosse
Bleichen it hopes to build a “Stilwerk” furnishings and accessories store, apartments (on 10,000 sqm), an office building for use by the owner and a memorial. According to the daily newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost, the city may sell the grounds without issuing a call for bids.
Hochtief: Entering the market for senior care facilities
Hochtief Projektentwicklung has performed the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for a senior citizen residence and assisted care facility in Schöllkrippen near Aschaffenburg (Bavaria). This marks Hochtief’s entrance into the market for senior residential facilities. The new three story building with a gross area of approximately 4,500 sqm is being developed on a 3,000 sqm lot. The senior citizen home will have 52 single and 14 double rooms in six living units. Completion is planned for January, 2009. BeneVit is the operator. In addition to Schöllkrippen, Hochtief is also developing assisted living units in Hamburg, Dortmund and Kelkheim near Frankfurt.
Solingen: HLG plans 18,000 sqm for “Hofgarten” retail
HLG Projektmanagement has solidified its plans for the new “Hofgarten” („Court Garden“) commercial center on the corner of Graf-Wilhelm-Platz and the Neumarkt (New Market) in Solingen. In the current architect's design by Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner (HPP), 18,000 sqm for retail, 2,000 sqm each for offices and gastronomy, and a garage with 700 parking spaces are planned. HLG intends to start dismantling the existing Karstadt department store building as soon as possible after its closing on August 31 HLG’s CEO Christian Diesen told the daily newspaper /Rheinische Post/. A legally binding construction plan is expected in November. Diesen states that HLG is going to invest some €100mn in the new building. The commercial center is to open in the autumn of 2010.
CRE/Merrill Lynch: Joint venture acquires property portfolio in Germany
CRE Colonia Real Estate AG and Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments have established a joint venture to acquire a mixed commercial and residential portfolio. The purchase price is quoted at approximately €75mn; the seller is said to be a German insurance company. Merrill Lynch will hold 90% of the transaction value; CRE, as co-investor, will hold a 10% share. The firms state that the portfolio consists of 38 properties at nine locations in Germany with a total of some 69,000 sqm; 40% is residential and 60% is commercial area. A large part of the portfolio is situated in Munich, Berlin, Hannover, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Cologne.