Ca Immo builds office tower in Berlin

The CA Immo Group’s plans for the development of an urban district around the main railway station in Berlin are now taking shape, with CA Immo subsidiary Vivico set to build a 17-storey office tower. The building, which will serve as the German headquarters for French oil company Total, will be around 69 metres tall with a gross floor area of approximately 18,000 m². The total investment costs will amount to some EUR 70 mln.

Total has signed a tenancy agreement with Vivico spanning 15 years, with an option to extend for two periods of five years. Construction of the environmentally sustainable building will start in the second quarter of 2010; completion is scheduled for the second half of 2012.

Vivico’s Total tower will be the first new office building in Europacity. As with all of its projects, Vivico will seek to secure ecological certification for the Total tower.

The plans for the new high-rise in the Europacity district near Berlin’s main station were unveiled last week by representatives of the oil company Total, Vivico, the Senate of Berlin and architects Barkow Leibinger. Bernhard H. Hansen, CTO of CA Immo, said, 'The structure has been designed as a ‘green building’, which means it will comply with the latest principles of energy efficiency. The tenant specifically asked us to build a structure that meets the criteria of ecological sustainability.'

The mixed-use Europacity district will emerge on a project site of roughly 40 hectares around Heidestrasse, directly to the north of Berlin’s main station. The principal owners of the development site are the CA Immo Group (with around 20 hectares) and Deutsche Bahn AG (with approximately 10 hectares), with the state of Berlin owning around six hectares.

The project partners are working on the assumption that a legally binding land-use plan will be finalised in 2010/2011, which will enable the realisation of the city district to proceed.