Bilfinger Berger has received an order to build, in the city of Essen and on a turnkey basis, what is currently Germanys largest inner-city shopping center. The project has a volume of €150 million. The investors are the real-estate developer DIFA, Karstadt Immobilien and ECE. There will be room for more than 200 retail shops in the centers 70,000 m² of floor space. The complex will also include 1,600 parking places. The building's first section will be opened in spring 2008 with completion of the entire project planned for fall 2009.
Bilfinger Berger offers its clients individual solutions for every phase of a propertys lifecycle. The consulting, construction and services package bundled together under the i.volution brand includes development, design, construction, operation and revitalization. With this approach, Bilfinger Berger has, for example, realized demanding projects for the retail group Metro in the last few years. In this way, the Kaufhof department store on Alexanderplatz in Berlin was recently remodeled and expanded on a turnkey basis while the store remained open for business. Bilfinger Berger is also currently building the CityPalais shopping center in Duisburgs inner-city. The client is LEG Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Nordrhein-Westfalen, the states regional development authority.
The Group also possesses proven expertise in the management of retail real estate: EPM Assetis, the subsidiary specialized in real estate and asset management, currently runs about 40 shopping centers, including the property portfolio of a real-estate fund from CGS, a Commerzbank subsidiary.
Source: Bilfinger Berger
