Flemish commission moves into CBREI's Renaissance building

CB Richard Ellis Investors, the global real estate investment management firm, has signed a 21-year leasehold agreement with the Commission of the Flemish Community (VGC) for 5,848 m² at the Renaissance office building in Brussels.

Located in the heart of Brussels, at 135 Boulevard Emile Jacqmain, the 10,100-m² Renaissance is built following the strictest criteria in terms of sustainable development and exceeds current regulations, anticipating the EPB 2011 Belgian standards and the HQE certification. The building also offers occupants an interactive portal that allows them to monitor electric and water consumption at all times, in different areas and according to use, and tracking requests for maintenance.

'The portal permits users to focus on data analysis - and not on the collection - to help change the behaviors of end-users and to evaluate the effectiveness of action plans. By implementing these 'Green' tools in the operations of the building, in addition to the HQE certification, we want to assist users in limiting their environmental footprint,' said Guillaume Turcas, Director at CBREI.

This philosophy has already attracted the Institut des Experts-comptables et des Conseils fiscaux et l'Institut des Réviseurs d'entreprises (the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Tax Consultants and the Institute of Auditors), which leased approximately 5,500 m² in April 2010. The Renaissance building is now 85% occupied with only the fourth floor still vacant.

'The rental success of this project demonstrates that environmentally responsible offices are favoured in today’s competitive market. Our local asset management teams apply the same philosophy in our other Belgian projects in progress such as Eolis and Trio,' added Nicolas Lutgé, managing director at CBREI.

The transaction was handled by Cushman & Wakefield.