Le mie ricette per la real estate communityUnion Investment has agreed to acquire the Styria Center in Graz city centre. The building is a mixed-use property comprising residential, office and commercial units across a total of around 15,000 sq m of rental space. The vendor is a consortium of three private owners. The purchase price is approximately EUR 40 million. The Annenstrasse acquisition will be added to the holdings of open-ended real estate fund immofonds 1, which is marketed solely in Austria. This deal sees the fund acquiring the second property in quick succession that is predominantly residential in nature, following the announcement in mid-May of the purchase of a planned residential and commercial property in Vienna comprising approximately 9,700 sq m. The transfer of rights and obligations for the Styria Center is scheduled for autumn 2018.
“With its mix of residential, office and retail use, the Styria Center is a highly attractive proposition in Graz city centre, offering strong potential for sustainable long-term rental income,” said Dr Kurt Rossmüller, a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG. “The original building has been intelligently developed to create a modern, vibrant property that is an excellent fit with the immofonds 1 portfolio.”
The Styria Center’s 15,000 sq m of rental space comprise an existing structure and a new building. The existing building was constructed in 1890 and last updated in 2015. It consists of approximately 7,800 sq m of rental space, split between retail and office use. Tenants include food retailer Spar, perfume shop BIPA and the Austrian Labour Market Service. In addition, 104 residential units ranging in size from 30 sq m to 100 sq m are being built and will be completed shortly. This development work includes a new underground car park with 72 spaces for cars and 140 for bicycles. All apartments are located in the quiet interior courtyard and have a generously-sized loggia or balcony. The apartments in the extended Styria Center take up 8,600 sq m, thereby accounting for the largest proportion of space in the property.
Earlier in the year, immofonds 1 acquired the 6,200 sq m Max Tower office block at 1 Gürtelturmplatz in Graz. Since 2015, the fund has also held an 11,000 sq m office property in the city at 20 Europaplatz. Additionally, Union Investment acquired the Milestone Graz micro apartment complex for one of its special funds in autumn 2017. Following the acquisition of the Styria Center, the company’s real estate holdings in Graz are now worth a total of EUR 110 million. Graz is Austria’s second largest city. 60,000 students at various universities and colleges, as well as major companies such as Andritz, Magna and AVL List, help to make Graz one of Austria’s fastest growing cities.
Union Investment stands for forward-looking real estate investment worldwide. We provide private and institutional property investors with a comprehensive investment platform. Union Investment currently has assets under management totalling around EUR 34.6 billion in its open-ended retail real estate funds, specialised funds and service and pooling mandates. We invest in the office, retail, hotel, logistics and residential sectors and hold 365 commercial properties across 22 countries in our actively managed portfolio.
Source : Company
