Hannover leasing, an international investor and one of the leading providers of tangible assets in Germany has acquired, together with a major Asian institutional investor, 100 % of the shares in RAC 1, a company whose main activity is the development, the construction and the letting of the Belair project, from Breevast Group (60 %) and Immobel (40 %). The effective transfer of ownership of the RAC 1 shares remains subject to provisional acceptance of the building (foreseen in December 2013).
The main activity of RAC 1 is the development, the construction and the operation of the largest component of the redevelopment of the former Federal Administrative Centre, which is located in the heart of Brussels’ CBD between the prestigious Rue Royale and the Boulevard Pacheco. On its completion in December 2013, the landmark Belair project owned by RAC 1 will total approximately 80,000 m² providing 65,000 m² of office space, 14,000 m² of underground archives and multifunctional space as well as 681 parking units. The Belair project also benefits from state-of-the-art technical specifications and holds a BREEAM ‘very good’ certificate.
In 2010, Belgium’s Federal Police agreed terms on a 55,000 m², 18-year lease for the Belair project, which will serve as its national headquarters. An additional 10,000 m² was added to the lease in 2012. The site will also house a fire department and some retail space. The original Federal Administrative Centre (RAC/CAE) was built between 1958 and 1985 and served as the nation’s principal administrative offices. Designed by a collective of the greatest Belgian architects of the modernist era, the Federal Administrative Centre is characterized by its long, low-rise shape, and the spectacular panoramic view it offers of the surrounding area.
Breevast and Immobel have been redeveloping the complex since 2003. When the second phase, with estimated completion in 2016, will be finalized, the site will offer 150,000 m² of which amongst others 43,000 ²m of housing, 5,000 m² of retail and 19,000 m² of public space including a school and a nursery.
Breevast and Immobel were advised by CBRE and Clifford Chance. Hannover Leasing and its Asian partner were advised by Jones Lang LaSalle and Loyens & Loeff.
Source: Immobel
