IMMOFINANZ Group launches first internal development project at Düsseldorf Airport (DE)

10 years after its entry into the German market as a real estate investor, the Austrian IMMOFINANZ Group is now expanding its activities in the country. On May 23, the residential construction subsidiary BUWOG acquired the operating business and Berlin projects from the German housing developer CMI AG. Yesterday (May 24) IMMOFINANZ Group presented its first own development project in Germany with the spectacular Panta Rhei office building. The investment volume will total €26.5 million.

"We acquired the Panta Rhei project from the FRANKONIA Group in full only one month ago and now plan to start construction at the beginning of June," indicated Eduard Zehetner, Chief Executive Officer of IMMOFINANZ Group.

"This represents a further step in the implementation of our strategy to convert non-controlling interests into majority holdings or to sell these investments. Clearly defined responsibilities allow for the faster realization of projects – and that is exactly the approach we are following with our concept of the real estate machine," added Zehetner.

The new office building should be ready for tenants by the end of 2013.

Panta Rhei: new architecture highlight at Düsseldorf Airport
'Everything flows' is an English expression for the melodic name of the 9,658 m² prime Panta Rhei office building in the heart of the Airport City Düsseldorf. The flowing forms of the undulating exterior facade show that the building more than justifies this designation.

One of the most important features of the project is its location: the third largest airport in Germany and a hub for intercontinental connections is only a short walk away. That gives the office building an excellent infrastructure with a diverse gastronomy offering and wide-ranging shopping alternatives. However not only the airport, but also the city center can be reached in 10 minutes – another highlight of the well-defined concept for the Panta Rhei.

Christoph Blume, spokesman for the management of Düsseldorf Airport, welcomes the planned activities of IMMOFINANZ Group and the related upgrading of this office location: "This attractive project will create a further architectonic highlight for the high-quality business park at Düsseldorf Airport.

"Many well-known companies have already chosen the Düsseldorf Airport City as their office location – from a listed corporation to a radiology practice and consulting firm. That makes our business park unique", explained Blume.

"In addition to the attractive, park-like design, the most important advantage of the Düsseldorf Airport City is its location. Direct nearby access to the airport gives the office park optimal traffic connections – to the road system, public transportation and the airport's route network. It's only a few steps from the office to the check-in counter in the terminal," indicated Blume.

The Rhine as inspiration
Panta Rhei is a captivating building with spectacular architecture. Inspired by the Rhine River and its strong identification for Düsseldorf residents, the well-known architects at RKW Rhode, Kellermann, Wawrosky developed this unusual design.

Wojtek Grabianowski described the story of its creation, "You only need to look out the window when your plane approaches Düsseldorf. The curves of the river bed as it moves through the Düsseldorf landscape gave us the layout for the Panta Rhei.

"The building shell is a true-to-scale representation of the river, over all seven floors. The Rhine is also reflected in the space surrounding the building, just like a passe-partout."

The exterior appearance of this undulating building shell with its wave-like facade structure gives the building a high recognition value. The curved lines stretch throughout the entire building and are underscored by the selection of materials – a combination of glass, aluminium and steel.

Source: Immofinanz Group

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