With the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony, construction work for the Skyline Plaza shopping and leisure center in Frankfurt's Europaviertel began on June 1, 2011.
The grand project will be realized as a joint venture between the shopping center specialist ECE and CA Immo and encompasses an investment volume of approximately 360 million. Spanning a sales area of 38,000 m², the shopping center provides space for around 180 specialist shops, cafés, restaurants and service companies. Skyline Plaza is due to open in autumn 2013, the management and letting of the shopping center will remain in the hands of ECE in the long term.
Bernhard H. Hansen, CTO of CA Immo: "I am particularly happy that we will be able to build the Skyline Plaza as a green building. In doing so, we are not only considerably increasing the desirability of the location, but also contributing significantly to the ecological balance sheet."
Gerhard Dunstheimer, Deputy President of the ECE Management: "Frankfurt can look forward to a new, highly appealing meeting place for shopping, leisure and gastronomy. As a unique shopping experience, the Skyline Plaza will attract visitors from far outside the city's limits and thus sustainably fortify Frankfurt's position as a top shopping metropolis."
Awarded for sustainable planning and urban integration
The shopping center is part of the new Europaviertel in the west of Frankfurt. By 2019, the site of the old railway freight depot will be transformed into a new district full of offices, hotels and flats with a multitude of shopping and leisure possibilities. With its central location in the southeast of the district, the Skyline Plaza is a link between the Messe Frankfurt, the financial district and the city.
The shopping center has excellent public transport connections and can also be easily reached by car. There are 2,400 parking spaces provided for the visitors and bicycle stands for approximately 170 bicycles.
Within the scope of the extension works on the U5 underground line, the Skyline Plaza will have its own direct connection to the Frankfurt underground network. The architectural highlight is the design of the external facade composed of aluminum panels by the Frankfurt architects Jourdan & Müller.
Skyline Plaza is characterized by an incomparable view of the Frankfurt skyline: a 10,000-m² roof garden with a wide range of gastronomy and changing events is an attraction worth a visit at any time of the year. Based on its sustainable planning and urban integration, the Skyline Plaza was awarded the gold pre-certificate by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).
Letting is going according to plan
The letting of the shopping and leisure center is going according to plan. It has already been possible to win Hamburg-based MeridianSpa as a tenant for the 9,000-m² fitness and wellness area in the Skyline Plaza. In terms of its size, the new facility in the Skyline Plaza will be the largest fitness and wellness center in Frankfurt. The spacious areas on the third and fourth floors, and on the roof as part of the roof garden, will be home to a first-class facility with a wide range of fitness and wellness.
The scope of the Skyline Plaza project will encompass the construction of the shopping center and a congress center. The congress center should offer a conference capacity for up to 2,400 people. At the end of 2010, the application for building permits was submitted to the Frankfurt building inspection board with Vivico.
Negotiations are currently underway with Messe Frankfurt for the management and purchase of the congress center. The synchronized completion will be guaranteed by a shorter construction time for the congress center.
Source: CA Immobilien Anlagen AG
