The DIC Group is one of the leading investors in the German market for commercial real estate

Press Release

GEG Develops RIVERPARK Tower in Frankfurt

Frankfurt, 24.09.2017

• Administrative building of Union Investment to be turned into exclusive landmark tower block including boarding house
  
• Total investment volume tops EUR 220 million
  
• First project in Germany for award-winning architect Ole Scheeren 

The Frankfurt-based GEG German Estate Group AG has just announced its RIVERPARK Tower property development, with construction measures to start in late fall of 2018, once Union lnvestment has relocated to the WINX Tower (MainTor). GEG will completely redevelop Union Investment’s current headquarters at Wiesenhüttenstrasse 10 and reposition it as an exceptional landmark tower block (height: just under 95m) that will feature premium condominiums and a boarding house. With its spectacular, open and floating architecture, it will be the premiere project of celebrated architect Ole Scheeren (46) in Germany.

RIVERPARK TOWER will have 23 upper floors, while the ground floor divides into two separate lobby areas, one serving as entrance to the boarding house and its roughly 100 apartments that will take up the first five floors, the other leading to the 120 to 130 condominiums that will take up the 17 floors above.

Directly in the neighbourhood of RIVERPARK Tower, a building cluster named RIVERPARK Suites and designed by the renowned Frankfurt-based architect Jo. Franzke (76) is under development right on the riverbank that will include a mix of condominiums and municipally sponsored housing.

The building cluster of the RIVERPARK Suites consists of one six-storey building envelope that will accommodate 22 condominiums and another building envelope of seven storeys that will house at least 34 rental flats subsidised by the City of Frankfurt. Mike Josef, Head of the Planning Department of the City of Frankfurt: “I am very pleased that GEG is raising subsidised housing in this place – in so prominent a location and in the context of spectacular architecture. Since the highrise is subject to an already effective planning permission, we could not have demanded the inclusion of subsidised housing construction. It has now been integrated in a collaborative effort characterised by close partnership: At least 34 flats subsidised under two different public sponsorship models will be created on a voluntary basis.”

The clear floor-to-ceiling heights will be around three metres everywhere in the building complex. On a plot with a surface area of 4,100 sqm, the project will create around 33,000 sqm of lettable area plus 230 underground parking spots. The buildings will be equipped with high-spec materials and will feature app-based smart home technology. It is planned to seek compliance with a high sustainability standard. The unique location in the front row of the Main riverbank will ensure that residents have a magnificent view as well as easy accessibility to the inner city. The ensemble of buildings is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in the first half of 2021. The total investment volume will exceed EUR 220 million.

Ulrich Höller, CEO of GEG: “With this fascinating capital works project, GEG is creating another extraordinary urban-planning highlight in the wake of the MainTor project and parallel to the Global Tower project. I am particularly delighted in this context that the outstanding architecture we are about to create will involve Ole Scheeren with his first project in Germany.”

Architect Ole Scheeren: “This aspirational project shows that high-quality living is an option in Germany, too. A closed office tower of the 1970s will be converted into an open-plan residential format filled with natural light. We will demonstrate how a smart, sustainable rezoning of existing building fabric can upgrade not just the livability inside the actual building but also within the urban context, and enhance city life in general. In its prominent inner city location on the bank of the Main, RIVERPARK Tower will have symbolic value for the future of Frankfurt.”


About Ole Scheeren:
Ole Scheeren is a German-born architect whose international studio Buro Ole Scheeren has operated three branches in Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok since 2010. In Asia, he has become the most important German architect of his generation. His works have reaped many prestigious international prizes, including “World Building of the Year 2015” and the “CTBUH Urban Habitat Award 2014” which he received for “The Interlace” in Singapore (a large housing estate of 1040 apartments in 31 blocks), plus the “CTBUH Tall Building Award 2013” for the headquarters of the Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV in Beijing, which is considered his signature work and which is one of the largest buildings in the world.

Even before he started his own business, Scheeren maintained close ties with Asia: As partner and director at the Dutch architectural firm OMA of Rem Koolhaas, he was responsible for all Asian projects.

In addition, Ole Scheeren has regularly initiated or participated in cultural projects and exhibitions, such as e.g. for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the famous show “Cities in the Move” at the Hayward Gallery in London, or his floating cinema off the shore of Thailand.

His innovative large-scale projects have gained global renown for his firm, and with his office in Berlin, Ole Scheeren is now active in Continental Europe as well. The international portfolio of Buro Ole Scheeren includes defining urban ensembles and cultural buildings in Asia, Europe and North America. Several projects are about to be completed in the near future: the Guardian Art Center, an art centre near the Forbidden City in Beijing, DUO, a large-scale mixed-use project in Singapore whose construction involves entire city blocks, MahaNakhon, the tallest skyscraper in Bangkok, and fast food concept for the legendary Dean & De Luca gourmet market in New York.

About Jo. Franzke:
For more than 30 years, Jo. Franzke has headed the architectural firm in Frankfurt am Main that bears his name. Urban architecture that he co-designed includes projects like Jade-Fabrik, the Handelsblatt building and most recently Alpha Rotex, the tallest building at Frankfurt Airport.

His architecture is characterised by its strong sense of form, its clear lines, and a style that he personally calls “noble reduction.” One of Franzke’s teachers was the architect Oswald Matthias Ungers whose designs, which are based on strict geometric basic forms (Messe-Torhaus in Frankfurt or the new Kunsthalle building in Hamburg), challenged the stylistic elements of German postwar architecture.

In January 2017, Franzke sold his architectural firm to Sweco Group, one of Europe’s leading providers of architectural and engineering services. He will delegate the senior management to Heike Klotz, his co-worker of many years. Jo Franzke will remain committed to his firm for another five years to mastermind the areas of acquisition and architecture.

About GEG German Estate Group AG
Based in Frankfurt am Main, GEG German Estate Group AG has positioned itself as one of Germany's leading investment and asset management platforms in the commercial real estate sector. Its investment focus and investment policy concentrate on three segments: institutional business, opportunistic investments, and property developments. Within the framework of this clearly defined strategy, GEG has consistently exploited its opportunities ever since it was founded in 2015, building up an extensive, diversified real estate portfolio with just under EUR 1.9 billion in assets under management today. In addition to landmark properties like the IBC Campus office complex and the Villa Kennedy luxury hotel in Frankfurt, these include the Sapporobogen office building in Munich, property developments like the MainTor urban quarter and the Global Tower in Frankfurt, Opera Offices in Hamburg, and the Junges Quartier Obersendling complex in Munich. A long-term track record and the outstanding reputation of the management along with an experienced team of highly qualified professionals serve as foundation for a leading position in the market. The two shareholders of GEG German Estate Group AG are the Frankfurt-based Deutsche Immobilien Chancen group and KKR Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, a globally leading investment house with commitments in asset classes like private equity, infrastructure and real estate. Chairman of GEG’s management board is Ulrich Höller.


For more details on GEG, please go to www.geg.de

Press Contact:
Thomas Pfaff Kommunikation
Höchlstrasse 2
D-81675 Munich
T: +49 (0)89-99249650
M: +49 (0)172-8312923
kontakt@pfaff-kommunikation.de

<< back