Union Investment Real Estate has agreed an unusally long lease at one of its biggest developments in the world, which it says is double the standard length in Europe.
The investment firm and hotel operator, Maritim Hotels, have agreed a term of 50 years for the family-owned hospitality group to occupy what will become the largest integrated congress hotel in Europe at Amsterdam North, opposite the city’s main railway station across across the water.
The congress centre is being developed alongside the Yvie residential tower as part of a €500 mln project by Union Investment Real Estate.
In a statement, the parties said the exceptionally long lease compared with a European average of 20-25 years for similar investment assets.
The four-star hotel will offer 579 rooms in a 110-metre tower, the third highest in Amsterdam, and is combined with a conference and congress centre with the capacity to host over 4,400 people in 18 conference rooms, with the main forum taking up to 2,200 people. This makes it the second largest such venue in the city after the RAI exhibition and convention centre on the Dutch capital’s southern fringe.
The integration of the hotel and convention space in the same building, also make this the largest venue of its type by room keys in the European convention market. The Maritim Hotel is twinned with the Yvie residential tower being built next to it which will offer 176 permanent rental apartments with a further 120 available for extended stays.
Volker Noack, member of the management board, said: ‘Union Investment stepped into this project in 2019 to acquire it from the previous investors because we were convinced that its stunning waterfront location, directly opposite Amsterdam’s central station across the River Ij, would be unbeatable for the largest integrated congress hotel in Europe and make it a top-ranking European convention destination. The Maritim Hotel, together with our Yvie residential tower being constructed alongside, places this stunning area development among the “Top Five” investment commitments worldwide by Union Investment.’'
Maritim was established in 1967. Its largest market is Germany.
Monika Gommolla, chairman of the supervisory board and owner of the Maritim Hotels Group, said: ‘The Maritim Hotels Group is eagerly awaiting the opening in 2023 of our flagship property being developed by Union Investment in Amsterdam North’.
‘The European business convention market is gradually reviving after covid and we fully expect it to recover to pre-pandemic levels over the next few years, despite the darkening economic and geopolitical outlook, because people want to meet each other face-to-face again.’
