DIC Deutsche Immobilien Chancen - Investor und Projektentwicklung auf dem deutschen Markt für Gewerbeimmobilien

Press Release

MainTor district: DIC markets the first construction stage and launches development

Frankfurt, 28.06.2011

• Primus office block already sold to private investor before construction starts
  
• First construction stage:
  • Demolition from August 2011 onwards
  • Construction of Primus to start in autumn 2011
  • New DIC headquarters
  

DIC has now sold the “Primus” office complex in the future MainTor district to the Frankfurt-based private investor and benefactor Professor Carlo Giersch as part of a forward deal before construction work has even begun. The DIC group is to create the new building by mid-2013. By then the Company will house its Frankfurt headquarters in around 3,300 sqm of the complex’s office space. Discussions regarding the remaining rental space are already underway with additional interested parties.

A successful marketing phase has laid the foundations for construction work to begin on Frankfurt’s MainTor district, which will be implemented in several construction stages: construction stage one, which is to start at 1 August, in addition to demolition work includes in particular the preparatory work on the entire site and the complete redesign of the Primus complex, designed by architects KSP Jürgen Engel. The preparatory measures, the demolition work and the work to prepare the site as a whole for the subsequent construction stages will take around six months. At the same time, the Primus building shell, which by then will have been completely gutted, will be redeveloped – only its cubature will remain the same, and it will be fully modernised with a new facade, new building services, etc., in accordance with the highest sustainability standards of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The total investment volume of the first construction stage (demolition, preparatory work and construction of the Primus building) amounts to some EUR 50 million. The vendor and purchaser have agreed not to disclose the purchase price paid for the Primus building. The competent city authorities in Frankfurt have already issued a demolition permit; the application to begin new construction work has been submitted.

Professor Carlo Giersch: “For many years now, our investment strategy has focused exclusively on top-quality properties in first-rate locations. The MainTor quarter is an outstanding development project in Frankfurt with great potential for creating added value, particularly in view of the Giersch Foundation’s long-term strategy, and it is something which we are taking the opportunity to secure at an early stage.”

Ulrich Höller, CEO of DIC: “According to plan, the successful conclusion of this first contract has launched the development of the MainTor quarter. With our new headquarters we achieve a goal which has been planned for a long time. In addition, this expresses a strong commitment for our project.”

The Primus building is located at Neue Mainzer Strasse 20 and has good transport links, being a stone’s throw from the important junction of metro lines at Willy-Brandt-Platz. The commercial rental space, which comes to just under 5,550 sqm, is spread across the twelve floors of the 46-meter-high building. Primus features an arcade as well as a roof terrace with a unique view of the old town and skyline. By mid-2013 DIC will have built the new Primus so that it is ready for use.

The Frankfurt-based real estate investor DIC is a proven expert in the architecture of the city, having been a participant in its development as part of a wide range of projects. In 2004, for example, DIC purchased the 57 branches of the Frankfurt Sparkasse and introduced new regulations in some cases. DIC’s work in Frankfurt over the past few years includes well-known projects such as the city library, the Bienenkorbhaus, Nespresso in Goethe-Strasse, and the Grünhof.

About the MainTor – the Riverside Financial District:

With the “MainTor District” project, the DIC Group is redesigning the area between Untermainkai und Weissfrauenstrasse. As part of this process, the site, which was previously enclosed, is not only being redeveloped but also turned back into a public space, which will be integrated as a fixed part of the surrounding city district with paths and roads. The Riverside Financial District – the MainTor quarter will enhance the bank of the Main in Frankfurt’s banking quarter from both an architectural and an urban planning perspective. The subsequent construction stages will be implemented in line with the conclusion of forthcoming rental agreements. The whole MainTor district is set to be completed by 2015. The cleared building scheduled for demolition, which was home to part of Degussa’s headquarters for several decades, is hosting part of the anniversary exhibition of Frankfurt’s Museum of Modern Art (Museum für Moderne Kunst – MMK) until mid-October.

About DIC

DIC (Deutsche Immobilien Chancen), active throughout Germany, was founded in Frankfurt in 1998 and, with its innovative investment philosophy and its focus on the German market, is one of the most prominent and successful firms in Germany specialising in commercial real estate transactions. Its business activities include portfolio and asset management, which are handled by its SDAX-listed company, DIC Asset AG, as well as project development and opportunistic investments. It currently holds approximately 40 per cent of DIC Asset AG. The real estate assets managed by the DIC Group currently amount to around EUR 3.2 billion. Its shareholders are investment companies, several insurers, institutional investors and family offices.

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