Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has acquired an Austrian residential development for around €70m on behalf of the Catella European Residential Fund (CER) from Austrian property developer Wohnkompanie. The purchase follows a €100m equity ‘top-up’ to the Fund from existing investors in September 2020 and was carried out through Catella Real Estate AG’s AIFM platform.
The 217-apartment Höchstädtplatz complex is currently under construction close to Nordwestbahnhofviertel, one of Central Europe’s largest urban renewal projects covering an area of 44 hectares in the south of Vienna’s 20th Brigittenau district. Together with the neighbouring 2nd Leopoldstadt district, both areas form a large island in the heart of the city bordered by the Danube River and the Danube Canal, characterised by recreational green spaces on the banks of the waterways. Millennium City, Austria’s most-visited retail and entertainment centre is nearby the Höchstädtplatz, with its wide range of stores and indoor leisure operators.
The residential project comprises two eight-storey buildings with excellent transport links and is being developed along with low energy consumption sustainability principles. Altogether the complex will provide 13,800m² of lettable space, a ground-floor supermarket and two floors of underground car parking with 146 parking spaces, as well as storage facilities. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Benjamin Ruther, Head of Fund Management CRIM, said: “Modern, purpose-built and energy-efficient: the Hochstadtplatz acquisition is a perfect long-term fit for CER and brings the Fund’s allocation in Austria close to 10%. It demonstrates the Fund manager’s active approach to portfolio optimisation and follows the recent sale of a €100m portfolio in the Netherlands, which no longer met its investment criteria.”
