Commerz Real has signed an agreement with developer Hochtief Projektentwicklung to acquire the Neue Direktion Köln project in Cologne on behalf of its hausInvest open-ended real estate fund.
Commerz Real has signed an agreement with developer Hochtief Projektentwicklung to acquire the Neue Direktion Köln project in Cologne on behalf of its hausInvest open-ended real estate fund.
The new building, which will integrate the historic façade of the Eisenbahndirektion Cöln building from 1913, will deliver 21,400 m2 of state-of-the-art office accommodation.
The investment volume totals €128 mln.
Currently under construction on the bank of the Rhine in immediate proximity of the cathedral and the central railway station, the property is scheduled to be completed by spring 2016. Sole tenant of Neue Direktion Köln will be the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The EU agency, which is controlled by the European Parliament, signed a 20-year lease that includes a renewal option.
Hochtief Projektentwicklung already started fully gutting the building on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer in early 2013. The building's south-, east- and north-facing historic façades will be preserved. The new top floors will be executed as recessed storeys that recall the original outline of the roof structure that was never restored after being destroyed in the war.