Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate has purchased KITE, a new office complex in Cologne, Germany, from the project development firm Landmarken AG as part of a forward funding deal. The six-storey office building on Rudi-Conin-Straße has a gross lettable area of 22,800m² and 477 parking spaces. Some 75% of the lettable area has been leased for a term of 25 years to Sparkasse KölnBonn, the largest public savings bank in Germany. Plans are in place to obtain DNGB gold certification for green buildings. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The new office building is directly connected to the city’s rapid transit system and is located on the site of the former Butzweilerhof airport, one of the largest new residential and commercial developments in Cologne.
“Acquiring the project under development at an early stage allows us to secure a very long-term lease with a loyal and creditworthy local tenant at a high-growth location in Cologne,” said Hans-Joachim Lehmann, Managing Director of Warburg-HIH Invest. “With a vacancy rate of just over 2%, office space is in short supply in Cologne. On account of the city’s economic development, the situation in the market is unlikely to ease any time soon.”
