Pan-European logistics real estate specialist Verdion and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) have secured the former RAF Brüggen site on the German-Dutch border for the creation of a 177-hectare logistics park.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The asset was acquired from local development company Energie- und Gewerbepark Elmpt (EGE). It is situated directly on Germany's A52 motorway, which connects the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region with Roermond in the Netherlands. The ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam can both be reached in two hours.
According to Verdion, over €500 mln will now be invested in the project to create a strategic regional logistics hub.
The site – to be known as Javelin Park – will eventually comprise 567,000 m2 of logistics, business and light industrial space, taking shape over a 10–15-year period. All buldings will target DGNB Gold certification.
The project follows other key industrial developments from Verdion, including the €580+ mln iPort logistics hub and rail freight terminal in Doncaster, UK, with HOOPP; and the €200 mln E20 Park Copenhagen on Denmark’s main Germany-Sweden road corridor.
Michael Hughes, CEO of Verdion, said: 'This is a major strategic opportunity, and the €500 mln investment planned represents our biggest single investment in Germany to date.
'As part of Verdion’s pan-European programme for large scale park developments, Javelin Park will become one of the best business environments of its kind in Germany, one that will generate considerable opportunity and growth prospects both locally and regionally.
'Our objective is a high-quality, flexible and sustainable design concept that meets the needs of all potential occupiers, both large and small. We’re looking forward to working with the local community to bring the site through the zoning process and back into economic use, and will do so in a way that respects its rich history.'
Dr Andreas Coenen, district administrator and chairman of the supervisory board of EGE, commented: 'One of the most important economic projects in the region is out of the starting blocks today. The business park will contribute positively to the economic and social development of the county over the coming decades.'
Javelin Park is being funded by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), one of Verdion’s longstanding funding partners. Over the past seven years the partnership has created a specialist logistics portfolio valued at over €1.2 bn.
