06 March 2017 | Property Investment Management
Catella has been awarded a real estate prize in the Refurbishment category for its Living Circle project at the Real Estate Managers 2017 event in Germany. Catella’s Living Circle project is one of the biggest conversions of office space into residential in Germany, and won in competition with projects by major developers.
The imAward 2017 event, arranged by German magazine Immobilienmanager, took place on March 2 in Cologne, with 420 invited guests. The awards started in 2009 and have evolved to become the most significant in the German real estate business. The jury, consisting of 14 specialists, chose Catella’s Living Circle project in the Refurbishment category with the motivation:
“Catella solved two challenges with the Living Circle project. The urban challenge: the old “Thyssen Trade Center” in Dusseldorf had been an empty office building since 2011 and was not usable for new tenants. The market challenge: the residential market in Dusseldorf has a high demand surplus for affordable housing. Dusseldorf needs more housing to regulate the local market. Instead of demolition, the award winners decided for a conversion of the existing office building and to keep the landmark character of the architecture. The inner courtyards offer green oases with a high-quality environment, including a kindergarten and supermarket. The central location also provides close connection in all directions. The exceptional rents represent another important fact: 20% of the apartments are price capped with a maximum rent of EUR 8.50/m2, and the rest have an average rent of only EUR 11.65/m2, which is also below market rents. The Living Circle is one of the biggest conversion projects from office to apartments ever realised in Germany. Moreover, it is the first development in Dusseldorf to apply the rent policy concept.”
“This project was extremely challenging for our team and required a lot of work. But the result has been worth it – a unique and sustainable investment product. The fact that the jury decided on our project against this tough competition gives us even greater motivation in further projects,” says Klaus Franken, Head of German Project Management at Catella.
For more information, please contact:
Klaus Franken
Head of Project Management
+49 211 90 99 35 0
klaus.franken@catella.de
Press contact:
Ann Charlotte Svensson
Head of Group Communications
46 8 463 32 55, 46 72 510 11 61
anncharlotte.svensson@catella.se