News from 07/14/2008
Heidelberg: Referendum against apartment sale fails
The sale of 610 municipally owned apartments in Heidelberg to a private investor is still uncertain. No binding result was attained in a referendum held on Sunday: a total of only 22.4% of those entitled cast a vote. The referendum thus failed to fulfill the 25% quota required in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Mayor Eckart Würzner, who had stated before the referendum took place that he was in favor of keeping the apartments, expressed his regret that voter turnout was so low despite an information campaign. The city council, which had voted in favor of the sale at the beginning of 2008, will now decide at its meeting on July 23 what to do with the 610 apartments in the Emmertsgrundpassage. The municipal company Gesellschaft für Grund- und Hausbesitz (GGH) announced the sale of the residential units to Dresdner Grund- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (Dreges) in November, 2007, following which action groups started collecting signatures to demand the referendum.
Stuttgart: Carlyle plans new 18,000 sqm building
The Carlyle Group plans to start demolishing the Versatel high-rise on Kriegsbergstrasse at the beginning of 2009. The 14-story property is to make way for a new building with a maximum height of 40 m and approximately 18,000 sqm of office space, the daily newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung reported. At the moment, an architectural competition for the project is underway, in which, among others, the offices Auer+Weber+Assoziierte, Stuttgart, DBLB Architekten und Ingenieure, Munich, Henning Larsen Architects, Copenhagen, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg und Partner, Düsseldorf, KSP Engel und Zimmermann, Frankfurt, Murphy Jahn, Chicago and Schaller Architekten, Stuttgart were invited to participate. Carlyle acquired the building in July, 2007 from the energy provider EnBW. Versatel AG, the present user of the object, is now moving its southern regional headquarters to Kegelenstrasse 12 in Bad Cannstatt, where the firm rented some 4,000 sqm.
Berlin: Office space take-up falls a bit, slight rent price increases
Take-up on the Berlin office market has fallen back a bit. According to Savills, the figures that include user-owners dropped by some 17.3% to approximately 288,100 sqm compared with the same period during the previous year (first half of 2007: 344,900 sqm). As far as pure rental figures are concerned (take-up without user-owners), a total of some 272,400 sqm were rented, a setback of only 4.8% compared to the prior year (first half of 2007: about 285,400 sqm). For the entire year, the brokerage house is forecasting a total surface take-up of about 600,000 sqm. Rent prices rose slightly: compared to the previous year, the average price throughout the city climbed by 1.5% to €11.50/sqm. Peak rent has currently reached €22.20, 0.2% higher than 2007. Christian Leska, Savills’ CEO, commented, “Compared with the rest of the country, these prices are still so favorable that demand in 2008 will stay high, especially for choice locations in the inner city.” The highest rent prices were obtained in the Mitte (Center) district, where the weighted average rent runs to €12.56/sqm per month; at Potsdamer Platz, it even reaches €18.79/sqm.
Berlin: Referendum against Mediaspree succeeds
In the referendum held yesterday, the inhabitants of Berlin cast a clear vote against the development of the banks of the Spree River in the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. According to the last projections, approximately 86%, and thus nearly 30,000 people, voted in favor of the activist group “Mediaspree versenken” (“Sink Mediaspree”), which is demanding a 50 m wide undeveloped and public strip on the banks of the Spree between Michaelbrücke and Elsenbrücke and a ban on new high-rises. The competing proposal submitted by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, the district's parliament, on which a vote was also taken, was rejected. Some 55% voted against this alternative that advocated limited development of the banks of the Spree River and a 10 m wide public promenade along them. Several investors have plans for numerous office, apartment and auditorium buildings for the area called Mediaspree between Jannowitzbrücke and Elsenbrücke. Building permits have already been issued for many of the projects. If the result of the referendum is enforced, however, up to 224,000 sqm of developable area would cease to exist, in which case the district would have to pay some €165mn in indemnifications and other charges.
Sal. Oppenheim: Subsidiary founded for indirect property investments
Sal. Oppenheim Real Estate has founded a subsidiary in Zurich for indirect property investments. The new company called “4IP Management AG” will focus on unlisted property funds and stock exchange listed property companies in Europe, Asia and America, Sal. Oppenheim announced. The 4IP team is being directed by Claudia Reich Floyd. 4IP will structure and manage both funds of funds and separate accounts. A fund of funds for European property funds was already closed at the end of March. For the fourth quarter of 2008, the company has announced an Asian fund of funds with target returns in the range of 12% to 14%.
Catella: Office object acquired in Stockholm for €30mn
Catella Real Estate AG Kapitalanlagegesellschaft has acquired an office building in the center of Stockholm for its open property fund “Focus Nordic Cities.” The investment volume amounted to approximately €30mn. The seller of the property called “Asken 11” was the Swedish pension fund Alecta. The object has a total area of some 5,000 sqm. Tenzing AB advised the seller, Panab the buyer. Catella Real Estate AG Kapitalanlagegesellschaft is a 100% subsidiary of Catella Property Fund Management AB.