HIH Real Estate has completed the first construction phase of the conversion work on the former office building at Aachener Straße 744-750 in the Müngersdorf district and handed it over to the city of Cologne. From September 1, 2022, the city will lease around 19,000 square meters for the new Aachener Straße high school for 30 years. School operations, initially with four classes, are scheduled to start on October 1, 2022 in the areas of the first construction phase. The second construction phase should be completed in spring 2023.
The building was erected in 1998 and was last used by the cable network operator Unitymedia as the company headquarters. The four upper floors offer 15,850 square meters of office space, the two basement floors 3,420 square meters of storage and technical space. In addition, 202 car parking spaces are available in both basements. The property belongs to a closed fund that HIH Invest Real Estate manages for the church supplementary pension fund of the Association of German Diocese (KZVK). Apart from a small area that the Sparkasse uses for an ATM, the city of Cologne is the sole tenant of the building near the Rheinenergie Stadium.
For school operations, HIH Real Estate is converting the building in close cooperation with the city of Cologne. “Converting a company headquarters into a high school is an exciting challenge for us. Not only a different room layout with classrooms and common rooms was required. The stairs in the main stairwells also had to be widened and the height of the steps adjusted. In addition, there is a new ventilation system and stricter fire protection and noise protection measures. For example, in order to meet the noise protection requirements for Aachener Strasse, the glazing had to be replaced in some areas and partially upgraded with a complete window front in front of the existing one. New footpaths and seating for the break were created at the back of the building. We mastered the first construction phase within eight months after the building permit was granted,” explains Christine Friedrich, Technical Asset and Project Manager at HIH Real Estate in Düsseldorf, who is accompanying the conversion.
Frank Kindermann, Head of Asset Management at HIH Real Estate, adds: “The benefits of offices with flexible space allocation become particularly clear here. We are enthusiastic about the conversion potential of the former Unitymedia headquarters. The new use is a real win-win situation for the city of Cologne, which had been searching for new school space at high pressure due to the great demand.”
