Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has chosen French firm Bouygues Construction to build the €200 mln Tour Alto skyscraper in the Paris business district of La Défense.
ADIA subsidiary Tamweelview European Holdings acquired the office tower project in a deal secured through LaSalle Investment Management in February. The vendor was a fund managed by UBS Asset Management's global real estate business. ADIA paid €55 mln for the asset to UBS, which acquired the building in April 2006.
The project will involve the demolition of the existing ‘Les Saisons’ building and the construction of a 51,200 m2 office scheme at the gateway to La Défense. The purchaser has awarded the €200 mln development contract for the 38-storey office tower to a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, Linkcity IDF (formerly Sodéarif).
Tour Alto will include an IF Architectes-designed office tower, car park, ground-level retail space and a public square. The office tower is targeting HQE 'Exceptionnel' and BREEAM 'Excellent' environmentally-sustainable certifications. Detailed design work will continue during 2016, with demolition works to commence mid-2016. Practical completion is expected in 2020. As part of the transaction, UBS will remain actively involved in the management of the redevelopment programme for at least the next 12 months via a mandate with the purchaser.
Bernard Mounier, CEO of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, said: 'The award of this contract, following 18 months of technical and engineering studies, repays the motivation and hard work of all the teams. By combining their range of skills, we were able to meet our customer’s expectations. We are very enthusiastic to have the chance to build a new skyscraper in the La Défense district.'
