CBRE Investment Management has acquired a 6,214m² serviced apartment building in Antwerp, Belgium, from Silex Group. The asset, operated by YAYS Aparthotels, comprises 94 short-stay and furnished apartments, spread across eight floors, on Frankrijklei, the main boulevard in Antwerp. In addition to the 94 apartments, the asset also encompasses 12 parking spaces.
Located on Frankrijklei, in the centre of Antwerp, the asset is in close proximity to Antwerp Central Train Station and the city’s historical center, as well as Meir, Antwerp’s main shopping destination. The asset will benefit from the ongoing regeneration of the area, anchored by the restructuring of Operaplein, which has seen all vehicular traffic hidden underground beneath the square. A new metro station, Opera, has recently opened approximately 200m from the asset, as well as a new underground car park.
David De Wolf, Asset Manager at CBRE Investment Management, said: “The hotel and residential market in Belgium has historically been hard for institutional investors to access, as these assets are typically held in individual co-ownership structures. This transaction was therefore a rare opportunity to acquire a centrally located aparthotel, with excellent transport links and access to tourist hotspots in Antwerp, which is the second most visited city in Belgium, after Brussels.”
