Union Investment has acquired the Westfalen Center Dortmund. Located close to Dortmund city centre, the campus property comprises an office building that incorporates a hotel. The campus occupies a 10,062 sq m site, with around 30,415 sq m of rental space and 442 parking spaces. The vendor is Swiss investor AFIAA Investment Foundation for International Real Estate Investments. The purchase price was not disclosed.
The acquisition is being made on behalf of the Urban Campus Nr. 1 special fund established jointly by Union Investment and Investa Capital Management (ICM). The Westfalen Center Dortmund is now the eighth property in the fund, following acquisitions in Fürth, Nuremberg, Constance, Mannheim, Hamburg, Bochum and Munich. As with all properties in Urban Campus Nr. 1, Investa Real Estate will handle property and tenant management.
“Since the property is already laid out as a campus, our The Plant concept can be adapted very easily, enabling implementation of forward-looking working and office structures. Starting with office buildings that feature flexible space concepts and a prestigious ambience while also benefiting from a high quality urban environment, we transform campus properties into spaces that cater to all areas of daily life,” said Wolfgang Kessler, a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH.
Built in 1996, the property was renovated in 2012 and 2019 and currently has 33 tenants. The main tenant, Steigenberger Hotel GmbH, occupies 22% of the total rental space. The Westfalen Center Dortmund is located near the Westfalenhallen complex (Dortmund’s exhibition site), the Westfalenstadion football stadium and Dortmund’s Kreuzviertel district, a highly sought-after residential district with many restaurants and a wide range of cultural amenities. The property has excellent transport links.
AFIAA was advised on legal aspects by LATHAM & WATKINS LLP. Union Investment and Investa Real Estate were advised on legal aspects by P+P Pöllath + Partners, on technical aspects by Currie & Brown and on environmental issues by Arcadis. The deal was brokered by Rheinwert Immobilien.
