BNP Paribas Real Estate’s property development arm is ‘actively’ seeking to enter Germany’s top 5 cities after launching its first development project in the country in 2019.
BNP Paribas REPD, which is currently developing the Senckenberg Tower in Frankfurt, its first development project in Germany, said that it has secured a second project in the city which is due to be announced in the next weeks while it continues to monitor the market for new opportunities.
‘We are actively seeking acquisitions in the major German cities as part of plans to expand in the German market,’ said Antoine Mabilon, BNP Paribas RE’s international property development head. ‘We are aggressively looking across the country and we have participated in bidding both in Berlin and Munich.’
The company has a preference for mixed-use, Mabilon added. ‘We like building neighborhoods and we tend to favour a mixed-use approach. Offices however remain our strong suit,’ he noted. The company focuses on projects with a value over €50 mln.
Senckenberg Tower
With development activities in France, the UK, Iberia, and Italy, BNP Paribas REPD announced its expansion to Germany with a first development project in 2019 and the off-plan sale of the scheme in Frankfurt to NAS Invest.
The €265 mln 99 West development, which was later renamed Senckenberg Tower, will provide over 24,500 m2 of offices on 27 floors, on the edge of Frankfurt’s Central Business District, in the Westend District. BNP Paribas Niederlassung Deutschland has leased over 14,000 m2 in the lower floors of the tower for 12 years without break option and the landlord is actively looking to market the remaining space.
The project, which is targeting BREEAM Excellent, is expected to set a new benchmark in terms of sustainable development in the country when it will be completed in October, according to Mabilon. ‘From the very beginning we looked at what could be a major advance in our ESG approach and we decided to go for a recycled aluminium facade, one of the first of its kind in Germany,’ he commented.
As such, the façade of the 106-metre high office tower in Bockenheim is made of 95% aluminum, at least three quarters of which is obtained from recycled aluminum.
‘What is interesting is the circular economy involved in the project. In fact the construction company recuperates the aluminium from demolitions close to the site, works on it through a nearby factory and is able to deliver it again in a short timeframe,’ Mabilon said.
