Swiss Life Asset Managers has exclusively acquired a brownfield site in the Ruhr area. In Bottrop, the investor developer will be developing the light industrial project “Central Ruhr” on the approximately c. 100,000m2 site in Hiberniastrasse, which will comprise a state-of-the-art logistics property with just under 33,400m2 of rental space as well as a new office building and external storage space. Project development start is planned for 2025. RUHR REAL acted as the broker for the acquisition.
“The Ruhr area is a central European logistics region and therefore an important location within our pan-European investment strategy,” explained Ingo Steves, Managing Partner Logistics at Swiss Life Asset Managers. “With ‘Central Ruhr’, we strengthen our presence in the global hub North Rhine-Westphalia and add another state-of-the-art property to our ‘Roots’ development pipeline.”
The site in the district-free city of Bottrop is located in the Ruhr area, Germany’s largest conurbation. Centrally located in Europe, it offers an ideal transport infrastructure and excellent connections within the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region as well as to the national and international transport network. For example, the A2, A31 and A52 motorways are no more than five kilometres away. In addition, the Port of Duisburg, the largest in-land port in Europe, is 25km away.
“Brownfields are an important investment for sustainable logistics. With our project, we are not only preventing further surface sealing in this densely populated region but are also revitalising and modernising this outstanding property on the basis of internationally recognised sustainability criteria,” emphasised Alexander Schmid, Head of Development Logistics at Swiss Life Asset Managers.
The logistics property will offer a total rental area of 33,395m2, divided into three building units with a clear height of 12 metres, which can be rented to either a single or multiple occupants. In addition to 29,505m2 of warehouse space, this also includes 1,800m2 of social and office space as well as around 2,090m2 of mezzanine space. Additionally, the modern service location will feature a new office building with a total rental area of 842m2 as well as various external storage areas.
The sustainable energy concept for the property includes the installation of heat pumps and a planned rooftop photovoltaic system. Overall, the property is aiming for a BREEAM “Very Good” certification.
“Central Ruhr” is already the fourth logistics project development by Swiss Life Asset Managers in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to the multi-award-winning flagship project “DeltaPort I” in Wesel, the investor developer has already realised the logistics properties “DeltaPort II” in Voerde and “Düsseldorf East” in Wulfrath. The three properties are let on a long-term lease.
Image source - Swiss Life Asset Managers.
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