Inaugurato il Kempinski Hotel “Palais Hansen” a Vienna

(Opening ceremony at the Palais Hansen Kempinski, Vienna)
Palais Hansen, the jewel of Vienna’s Ringstrasse, has taken on new splendor. On 13 March 2013, the official ribbon cutting was held for the Kempinski Hotel Palais Hansen. Vienna’s Mayor Michael Häupl and district head Ursula Stenzel participated.
In the new Palais Hansen, Vienna – a city rich in historical architecture – has a very special landmark.
The eight apartment buildings with a shared façade constructed according to plans by Theophil Hansen and Heinrich Förster were converted into a hotel for the World Exhibition in 1873, but the property was never used as such. Over the past two years, the jewel of Ringstrasse boulevard has now been gently modified and expanded. Now, for the first time, the property is living up to its original purpose as a luxury hotel. The palace, which is subject to a historical preservation order, was carefully and gently revitalized to create the Palais Hansen Kempinski, which was officially opened today and encompasses 25,655 m² of space and 17 exclusive residences.
The internationally renowned Kempinski group of hotels is the ideal operator for Vienna’s new luxury hotel. The five-star hotel is the second facility operated by the luxury hotel group in Austria, after Kempinski Das Tirol, in Kitzbühel. The two uppermost levels were converted into high-end residences that combine old and new for particular luxury and flair. Thirteen of the 17 residences are already spoken for.
Mayor Michael Häupl is proud of the palace, a new highlight in the Vienna cityscape: “The Palais Hansen, a highly regarded building from the glory days of Ringstrasse, has now taken on new splendor. I’m glad to see that the site is becoming a place to bring people together in an atmosphere of Vienna flair, and I wish the team all the best.”
District head Ursula Stenzel adds: “Vienna’s first district can only express congratulations on this
major project. The completion of the Palais Hansen is a milestone for the city center. This is not only a
magnificent hotel that will contribute to Vienna’s reputation as a hub of metropolitan tourism, but also a
jewel for the entire area.”
The owners and developers, a consortium of Strauss & Partner Development, Warimpex, Wiener Städtische Versicherung and Wien Holding, see their concept as having been affirmed. “The successful opening of the hotel as well as the brisk demand for the Grand Residences both offer proof that we chose the right development concept. I am happy that a new era of of vitality has begun for both the Palais Hansen and the area around Schottenring,” says Robert Lasshofer, Chairman of the Managing Board of Wiener Städtische Versicherung.
PORR CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss, “The requirements of the historical preservation order and the sheer size of the project presented a lot of challenges. I’d like to congratulate the team on site, all of whom tackled the project with great expertise, professionalism, and creativity in order to meet all the requirements.”
“The Kempinski Group has long dreamed of having a property in Vienna. Now, with the opening of the Palais Hansen Kempinski, that dream has come true,” says General Manager Hans Olbertz. “We are especially pleased that the historical palace is finally living up to its original purpose, and that it is now once again accessible to the people of Vienna and to guests from all over the world.”
Facts and figures: PALAIS HANSEN
Address Schottenring 20-26, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Floor space 4,858 m²
Usable space 25,655 m²
Builder Palais Hansen Immobilienentwicklung GmbH
Aboveground levels 7
Belowground levels 2
Start of construction Fall 2010
Completion January 2013
Transfer to Kempinski January 2013
Project participants
Investor/owner Palais Hansen Immobilienentwicklung GmbH
A subsidiary of well-known Austrian firms:
STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH
WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group
Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG
Wien Holding GmbH
Hotel management Kempinski AG, Maximilianstrasse 17, 80539 Munich, Germany
Architecture Arbeitsgemeinschaft Podrecca & Hayde
Interior design Studio Dessins, Paris, in cooperation with UBM Bohémia
Spa design Rizzato, Tettnang
Facts and figures: PALAIS HANSEN GRAND RESIDENCES
Levels 4th and 5th floors
Usable space, residences 4,346 m²
Number 17 residences
ranging in size from 130 m² to 340 m²
25 passenger car parking spaces for residence owners’ exclusive use
Features Alongside the garage space, various service options will be offered
directly by Kempinski. These also include the use of the hotel’s
wellness, fitness, and spa area.
Residence seller Palais Hansen Immobilienentwicklung GmbH
www.palaishansen.com
Facts and figures: KEMPINSKI HOTEL PALAIS HANSEN
Hotel management Kempinski AG, Maximilianstrasse 17, 80539 Munich, Germany
Hotel name: KEMPINSKI HOTEL PALAIS HANSEN
Rooms, suites 152
Restaurants / bar 3
Cigar lounge 1
Conference space about 650 m²
of which ballroom about 281 m²
Wellness & spa area about 800 m²
Number of jobs About 150 people
Brief description of project partners
STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH – a subsidiary of the PORR Group – is a leading construction and project development firm. During the first quarter of 2012, Strauss & Partner Immobilien GmbH, which is based in Austria, merged its strengths with those of Porr Solutions Immobilien- und Infrastrukturprojekte GmbH. Under the new name STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH, the company now covers the market segments of office, commercial, and residential real estate, infrastructure projects, health, and concessions in Central Europe. From planning and development to construction and beyond, to marketing and management, STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH offers a full range of services from a single source. The group works exclusively with high-quality, sophisticated, high-yield properties, either owner-occupied or used as investment properties. www.strauss-partner.com
WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group works across all segments of the Austrian insurance market (property/accident, life, and health). An innovative composite insurer, the firm offers optimum insurance coverage for all needs in both personal life situations and in the commercial and corporate customer sector. Customer focus and outstanding service quality are two of the main features of WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung. With about 3,500 employees and 140 locations, it offers comprehensive insurance solutions in all of Austria’s federal states. WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung is the largest single company in the international VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP AG, Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG), which is based in Vienna. www.wienerstaedtische.at
Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG is a real estate investment and development company. The firm is headquartered in Vienna and is listed on the stock exchanges in Vienna and Warsaw (WXF).
As one of the largest hotel investors in Central and Eastern Europe, Warimpex currently owns, partially owns or operates twenty business and luxury hotels with over 4,800 rooms in total as well as five commercial and office buildings with a total useable area of roughly 43,000 square metres. Over the past twenty-five years, Warimpex has developed properties worth over one billion euros.
Warimpex believes in quality and sustainability as the basis for strong future growth.
The firm’s top properties include the InterContinental hotel in Warsaw, andel’s hotels in Berlin, Łódź and Krakow, as well as angelo hotels in Prague, Plzeň, Katowice, Bucharest and Ekaterinburg and the hotel Kempinski in Vienna. www.warimpex.com
Wien Holding is committed to forward-looking, sustainable projects that secure a location’s status as a hub of economic activity, spur economic growth, create jobs, and thus enhance quality of life for people on the whole. This is also the main driving force behind the company’s activities in the real estate sector. The Wien Holding group is currently working with various partners to develop about fifteen major properties or holds corresponding interests in the relevant development companies. This makes Wien Holding a major stakeholder in the dynamic processes of modernization and development taking shape in the city, both within the city center and in the urban development zones toward more outlying areas of the city. The Palais Hansen and projects like the Therme Wien aquatic complex in Oberlaa, the Breitensee industrial park, and the development of a completely new media site in St. Marx offer excellent examples of the value-added strategy pursued by Wien Holding.
www.wienholding.at
The Kempinski brand is represented worldwide by a growing collection of distinctive hotels. Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group, Kempinski has earned its reputation out of a firm belief that exclusivity and individuality form the basis of true luxury. New hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia make the Kempinski portfolio a unique experience. While this growth phase reflects the strength and success of the Kempinski brand, the collection will remain limited in order to stay true to its values of exclusivity and individuality. www.kempinski.com
Source: Companies