News from 06/19/2008
Frankfurt: Groß & Partner plans new 20,000 sqm office building in Ostend
One of the last building plots in Frankfurt’s eastern harbor is about to be developed. Directly at the harbour, the development company Groß & Partner Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH is planning a six-story office complex with approximately 20,600 sqm of lettable area. The new building called “Dock 2.0” is to be constructed on the plot at Lindleystrasse 8-11. Nearly 3,200 sqm of lettable area on the ground floor will be available for gastronomic or cultural usages. Silke Neumann, Groß & Partner’s spokesperson, told THOMAS DAILY that there are no tenants for the office and commercial spaces as yet. Commencement of construction is scheduled for the end of 2008; completion is projected for 2010. The plans for the new building are from the architectural office Meixner Schlüter Wendt.
Frankfurt region: Location for Deutsche Börse found
Deutsche Börse has found a location for its projected new building in Eschborn near Frankfurt. This is going to be the former grounds of Heidelberger Druck in the commercial area in the south of Eschborn, a spokesman of the company told THOMAS DAILY. In an interview with the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the press officer of the city said that a preliminary construction inquiry has been submitted for the area on Mergenthalerallee. The zoning ordinance permits a maximum building height of 22 stories. The Frankfurt firm Groß & Partner, together with Lang & Cie., are to function as joint building owners. The designs submitted by the office KSP Engel und Zimmermann were chosen over the plans made by Christoph Mäckler and Jo Franzke. Commencement of construction is slated for the second half of 2008; the move from Frankfurt to the new building in Eschborn is projected for the middle of 2010.
Deka Immobilien GmbH: „L’Irisium“ project development in Lille acquired
Deka Immobilien GmbH is reporting the acquisition of a development in Lille in northern France for one of its open-ended special property funds. The seller is the French developer Bouyges Immobilier. The price for the tripartite office ensemble “L’Irisium” with a total of approximately 9,900 sqm of lettable area is quoted by Deka at around €28.5mn. The architect of the L-shaped complex is Jacques Ferrier, renowned for environmentally sound office concepts. Bouygues Immobilier was awarded a prize for ecologically constructed and energy-saving projects in 2007. According to the announcements, after its completion early in 2010, “L’Irisium” will be the first building in the region with the HQE environmental certificate. Construction is to begin before the end of the current month. Lille has established itself as the third-largest office market in France, and now has some 3mn sqm of office space.
Düsseldorf region: Shopping center in Neuss to be converted for €140mn
By the autumn of 2009, the shopping center „Huma Einkaufspark“ in Neuss near Düsseldorf is going to be modernized and enlarged for approximately €140mn. The center, under its new name “Rheinpark-Center”, is to have some 40,000 sqm of sales area for 130 stores and 1,500 parking spaces after the reopening. The Swiss owner, Unimo AG, has commissioned the Hamburg-based ECE with restructuring, leasing and management. The leasing rate is presently at around 60%. The present anchor tenants Saturn, Real, Cruise Classics and Voswinkel will be retained.
Pirelli: Interest in Kaufhof announced
The Italian property concern Pirelli RE has signalled its interest in acquiring the Kaufhof department stores. “We want to buy the Kaufhof properties,” Pirelli RE’s CEO Carlo Puri Neri said to the economic newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore”. Pirelli had previously been mentioned as a possible buyer of the Kaufhof's real estate: Thomas Middelhoff, CEO of the retail group Arcandor, brought up the possibility of a take over of competitor Kaufhof. In his plans, Pirelli would have been part of a consortium to purchase the Kaufhof properties. At the end of April, however, Middelhoff again cast doubt on the sense of a merger between Arcandor and Kaufhof.
Hannover Leasing: New Germany fund on market
Hannover Leasing is starting a new Germany fund. Substanzwerte Deutschland 4 is investing in three office and administration buildings in Hamburg, Bad Homburg and Leipzig. Some 96% of the total usable area belonging to the fund’s objects are rented long-term, whereby extensive protection against inflation is granted by rental indexing, Hannover Leasing reports. The objects in question are the “Süd-Carrée” office property in Hamburg (total lettable area some 14,000 sqm, completion imminent this summer, main tenant: Veolia Umweltservice (Environmental Service) GmbH), a new office building in Bad Homburg (around 16,500 sqm of usable area, completed at the beginning of 2008, main tenant: Lily Pharma Holding) and an administration building at the main train station in Leipzig (about 24,000 sqm of office space, completed in 1998, main tenant: Deutsche Bahn). The fund’s total investment volume runs to €154,6mn, some €77mn of it in equity. Across the fund’s projected lifetime of 15 years, the initiator is predicting 222.19% in back flows, compared with the invested capital without agio. Participation is possible starting at €10,000 plus 5% agio.
AMB Generali: Increased involvement in UK and USA planned
The Aachen-based insurance concern AMB Generali is planning to invest up to $3bn on the British and American property markets during the next two years, AMB Generali’s manager Christophe Schumacher said to the Reuters news agency. Its involvement in North America and Great Britain is to be expanded to 35%. Up to now, AMB has invested 80% in properties on the European continent. A Reit and investments in structured property products are being considered.
Berlin: “CarLoft” residential project in Kreuzberg nearing completion
The six-story luxury residential project called “CarLoft” on Paul-Lincke-Ufer in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin is nearing completion. The shell of the project with a total area of 3,329 sqm is finished, and work on the interior has begun, Johannes Kauka, the Business Manager of Topos Paul-Lincke-Höfe GmbH & Co. KG reports, adding that two thirds of the lofts have been sold. The search for a place to park is to be made easy for the apartment owners: by means of an elevator, the cars will be lifted directly to the floor where the apartment is located. Kurt Zech GmbH is functioning as the project developer. The designs were drafted by the architect Manfred Dick. The project was delayed last year because Wiemer & Trachte, the construction company previously commissioned, declared insolvency.
Augsburg region: Cornerstone laid for 52,000 sqm logistics park
Today, Prologis is laying the cornerstone for a new service logistics park in Gersthofen near Augsburg. A new building with a total surface area of approximately 52,000 sqm is planned. The location of the project is the freight traffic center measuring some 62 hectares south of the A 8 expressway. Next to the Prologis Park, a further logistics center with 12,500 sqm of usable area is being built. The project developer is GKM Objekt A GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of the transporter Otto Hörnlein e.K. Moreover, a container terminal station with a loading capacity of 40,000 to 45,000 loading units is to be constructed. The freight traffic center is a joint project run by the cities of Augsburg, Gersthofen and Neusäß. The center is to be completely in operation by 2012.