News from 07/04/2008
Hamburg: Quantum invests €150mn in Eimsbüttel district
Quantum Immobilien AG plans to begin construction on a new residential quarter in the Lokstedt area during the summer of next year. The location of the approximately €150mn "Stadtgärten Lokstedt" is a former 47,000 sqm sports compound between Lokstedter Steindamm and Grandweg. According to plans drafted by the Hamburg office Loosen, Rüschoff+Winkler, a total of some 600 apartments are to be developed there, primarily in three and four-story row houses. The apartments will range between 75 and 120 sqm, and most will be rented, the daily newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported. Also planned is a two-story kindergarten for 100 to 300 children that is to be operated in collaboration with nearby clubs as a sports day-care center. The development of "Stadtgärten Lokstedt" will be carried out over three phases ending in 2013-14.
Berlin: Construction starts on "Zoofenster" project in City-West
Construction on the "Zoofenster" project at the corner of Joachimsthaler Strasse and Hardenbergstrasse on the west side of Berlin has begun. For an investment sum of around €200mn, a 118 m, 37-story high-rise is being developed which will house apartments, offices, stores and a 280 rooms five-star hotel. The investor is the firm Harvest, founded by private individuals from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Construction on the 2,400 sqm area is scheduled for completion in early 2011. The Frankfurt architect Christoph Mäckler designed the building. Previous plans to develop the former Carpet Kibek premises have all failed.
Hamburg: Pirelli RE moves German headquarters to city's north
Pirelli RE is moving its German headquarters on September 1 to the northern part of Hamburg's inner city. The property company reported that it has already rented 5,500 sqm of office space at Überseering 34. The owner of the building completed in 1995 is Hamburg Mannheimer Versicherungs AG. The rental was brokered by First Properties Company GmbH. With the integration of DGAG and BauBeCon into the Pirelli RE group, Pirelli is on "a strong expansion path," which cannot be accommodated in the present offices on Grosse Elbstrasse, said Wolfgang Weinschrod, CEO of Pirelli & C. Real Estate Deutschland GmbH. At the new location, Pirelli will have at its disposal around twice as much office space as in its present German headquarters. Part of the office space on the banks of the Elbe River has already been rented out again, Weinschrod stated.
German investment market: Investors plan more acquisitions
Property investors plan to expand their participation in the German market. According to a poll conducted by Dr. Lübke, 64% of domestic investors are planning to increase their acquisition volumes. Among foreign investors, 71% said they were projecting further buys in Germany. Numerous investors, it was stated, have a high level of equity funds and are under pressure to invest. The market participants polled foresee no widespread drops in prices: only around one fifth expect rising returns and thus falling property prices. The credit crisis has had more noticeable effects on large-scale portfolio transactions than on single objects: "The time of package deals is over," Dr. Lübke comments. During the next months, according to the poll, mainly small and medium-sized transactions are to be expected. Half of the investors questioned intend to invest up to €100mn via single transactions or portfolio acquisitions; about one quarter wants to invest up to €250mn, and 12% between €250mn and €500mn. A total of 15% even plans investments of at least half a billion euros.
Frankfurt: New Sachsenhausen central business district topped out
On the grounds of the old streetcar depot in Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen district, the topping-out ceremony for a new business district has been celebrated. Among other objects being developed on the area measuring more than 8,000 sqm between Textorstrasse, Hedderichstrasse and Bruchstrasse, are the new offices of the daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau with 5,500 sqm of usable area, a 1,200 sqm Rewe supermarket and rental apartments on 2,600 sqm of living space. All together, approximately 13,000 sqm of gross floor area are under construction. The investment volume runs to some €45mn. The builders are Stiller Immobilien and Wentz Concept; the owner is Commerz Real Spezialfondsgesellschaft.
Ludwigshafen: Hansteen acquires "Rheinblock," plans modernization
The British investment group Hansteen Holdings is acquiring the residential and commercial complex called "Rheinblock" in Ludwigshafen. The stock exchange listed firm submitted the winning bid in an auction conducted by the Angermann group. The building complex currently comprises 3,500 sqm of residential and 6,600 sqm of office and retail space. Legal consultation for the transaction was provided by the law firm JonesDay; PropertyAMI GmbH will be in charge of asset management. No financial details have been announced. Via WEG Wirtschaftsentwicklungsgesellschaft in Ludwigshafen, Hansteen reported that the apartments and offices will be renovated. A retail shopping mall might also be built on the ground floor. The centrally located building complex will be considerably enhanced in value thanks to the opening of ECE's "Rhein-Galerie" in fall, 2010.
German office market: High take-up in first half of 2008
Colliers Property Partners (CPP) has calculated a significant take-up increase during the first half of 2008 in the largest German office markets. With a total of 1.5mn sqm, turnover rose by approximately 12.4% in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart compared to the same period during the previous year. The highest growth was recorded in Frankfurt, at 43.5%. In Düsseldorf, take-up rose by some 30%, in Stuttgart, by 21.4%. Only Berlin (-3.4%) and Hamburg (-0.3%) showed setbacks. The market with the strongest turnover is still Munich, where the take-up of surfaces rose by 7.4% to approximately 393,300 sqm. The highest peak rents, currently at €35.00/sqm, are still being paid in Frankfurt am Main. Munich follows in second place with €30.70/sqm. Thanks to a continually high number of new inquiries, CPP assumes that most of the cities will reach stable, partially even rising, volumes.
Hamburg: B&B hotel in the "Kühnehöfe" topped out by HIH
In the new "Kühnehöfe" urban district in Hamburg-Altona, another new building has been topped out: a hotel with 182 rooms on the corner of Stresemannstrasse and Kohlentwiete. The French budget chain B&B has signed on as the operator with the opening slated for the end of the year. The new district is being developed on 35,000 sqm of former production area by HIH Hamburgische Immobilien Handlung GmbH, together with Behrendt Wohnungsbau KG. A total of eleven buildings with 68,000 sqm of gross floor area for offices, apartments, retail, gastronomy and the hotel will be built for approximately €115mn. Four residential buildings and one office building have already been completed.