The ITO + SOM complex in the Zuid business district of Amsterdam, comprising approximately 51,980 m² of office and retail space, has a new owner. Union Investment has acquired the modern building ensemble from Commerz Real for around €244 million on behalf of its open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa.
Commerz Real originally purchased both properties in 2002 as a development project for its open-ended real estate fund hausInvest. Completed in 2005 as part of an urban development project in the heart of Amsterdam's South Axis district, the complex is currently 97 per cent let. It has a broadly diversified tenant mix with over 36 tenants, including renowned firms such as Accenture, law firm Houthoff Buruma and Boston Consulting. The 100 metre high ITO office tower is named after famous Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The flat-roofed SOM building with its glass, steel and aluminium façade was designed by architects Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM).
“With its relatively low vacancy rate of 6.8 per cent, Amsterdam’s South Axis is one of the most attractive office markets in the Netherlands. There has been a noticeable increase in demand for office space in this core location,” said Philip La Pierre, head of Investment Management Europe at Union Investment. Both of Union Investment's current development projects in the South Axis sub-market – the future headquarters of industrial group Akzo Nobel and of law firm Stibbe – are already fully pre-let for 15 years. In the 25-storey ITO tower, space ranging from 700 m² up to 2,000 m² is available, which can be split into up to four rental spaces. The areas in the five-storey SOM building comprise up to 2,600 m² in total and can be divided into two rental spaces. Union Investment is aiming to obtain a BREEAM sustainability rating of “Very Good”.
Source: Union Investment
