02. October 2019
Union Investment takes forward major project in Amsterdam
Conference hotel, residential block and serviced apartments across a gross floor area of 106,000 sq m
Union Investment has taken over the development of the Y-Towers ensemble in the north of Amsterdam. This modern building complex featuring two towers and covering a gross floor area of some 106,000 sq m above and below ground is being constructed next to the river in the fast-growing Overhoeks district. The hotel tower will accommodate a Maritim-branded conference hotel with 579 rooms. It will be the tallest building in Amsterdam, with 33 floors. The neighbouring residential tower will comprise 174 apartments. The lower 10 floors of the tower will contain serviced apartments across a total of some 4,200 sq m. An underground car park with 605 spaces is also part of the development. The project involves investing a total of approximately EUR 460 million and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. Union Investment is acquiring the project development company from IES Immobilien and Invester United Benefits GmbH. It will take forward the development project as part of the value-add strategy it adopted in 2018. IES Immobilien will continue to support the project as a partner.
Y-Towers will be added to the portfolio of open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa and will become one of the largest properties in the fund. In addition, the Maritim hotel will be one of the largest hotel properties in Union Investment’s portfolio, which currently comprises some 70 hotels across nine countries.
“We recently set up a separate Value-Add team in Union Investment’s Real Estate segment so that we can expand our range of investment options in ever tighter core markets. We have also adopted a develop-to-core approach to take advantage of opportunities currently being offered by robust letting markets,” said Volker Noack, a member of the management team at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.
“As part of our new value-add strategy we have been able to secure a unique development project in the shape of Y-Towers. We successfully completed this off-market deal after a brief but very intense acquisition process and are open to further acquisitions with value-add potential,” said Monika Gerdes, head of the Value-Add team at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. “Apart from the inner-city waterside location, what makes Y-Towers special is the opportunity it gives us to carry out a hotel development project of this size and create a residential tower that is not subject to rent controls.”
“The sale of our share in the project to Union Investment means that work on realising the Y-Towers development can now proceed,” said David Hofmann, managing director of IES Immobilien. “We are delighted that the new owner will continue to rely on our expertise, and we are also pleased with the successful transaction and with this proof of IES Immobilien’s ability as a developer – this time at international level.” Construction work is scheduled to resume at the beginning of 2020.
In Amsterdam, Union Investment currently holds a portfolio of 10 commercial properties worth around EUR 940 million. The most recent purchase, in spring 2019, was the 5 Keizers office property, which offers 15,000 sq m of rental space in the historic canal district. The Hamburg-based real estate investment manager is also invested in properties in Eindhoven, Enschede and Rotterdam. Upon completion, Y-Towers will be by far Union Investment’s largest property in the Netherlands.
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