Catella European Residential (CER) has acquired a 14,000m² waterfront development of 137 senior living apartments distributed across four buildings on Lake Zwenkau on the southern edge of Leipzig for approximately €50m. The seller is SEEBAD Erholungsraum GmbH and completion of the property within the municipality of Zwenkau is planned for summer 2025.
Michael Keune, Managing Director CRIM, said: “Germany is one of only five ‘super-ageing’ societies in the world with nearly one-third of its population projected to be over 65 years-old by 2050. This demographic megatrend is already creating a glaring shortage of age-appropriate, assisted living developments and inpatient care facilities across the country. As a result, high quality developments in the senior living sector, as we have just acquired on Lake Zwenkau, are strongly needed to meet surging demand for the foreseeable future."
The four building complexes in the development have a total of 10,800m² of living space, of which 88 apartments are designated for assisted living and 49 for care. In addition, a range of communal areas are planned, including a daytime café.
The assisted living apartments are between 35m² and 60m² and feature en-suite bathrooms, as well as partially equipped fitted kitchen. The living and communal circulation areas in the buildings are barrier-free and wheelchair accessible and each room has a telephone and emergency call system.
The buildings are aligned with the KfW 40 NH German building energy standard, meaning the development only consumes 40% of the primary energy required by a comparable reference building. Photovoltaic panels on the roofs supply the development’s heat pump system with electricity.
Benjamin Rther, Head of Fund Management CRIM, added: "The sharp rise in energy costs has created challenging financial burdens for nursing home operators. Residents require stable and comfortable room temperatures, often exceeding 25 degrees Celsius, around the clock and expenses have more than tripled for some operators. For this senior citizens' resort, we are deploying renewable energy and modern, efficient technologies for energy-saving building operations offering energy security and a high level of stability in ancillary costs in the long term.”
