A new kind of industrial yard in Berlin: Multi-tenant, diverse, available for investment

Several demands are simultaneously consolidating in Berlin: Companies require accessible spaces close to the city and short routes for their delivery and service processes. At the same time, the range of user profiles modern commercial properties have to cover is expanding. Panattoni Campus Berlin Zentrum was developed to meet these requirements. The site in the Lichtenberg district unites urban accessibility with a flexibility of use of the spaces that are not tailored to individual, monolithic users, but instead are for a mixture of commercial, production-related and logistics-related requirements.

In order for such a central site to function long-term, two perspectives must interlace with each other. Municipalities and economic developers require offers for modern industrial and commercial spaces that fit into the urban environment, are flexibly usable and provide companies of various sizes a long-term place to establish themselves and opportunities for growth. Investors expect stable leasability, high third-party usability and a durable quality and sustainability profile. The campus approach is aimed precisely at combining these demands. Panattoni combines the logistics spaces of Panattoni Park Berlin Zentrum with the City Dock® Berlin Zentrum business park which, as a small-unit, modular concept, has the functionality of a modern, urban industrial yard and thus opens up a broad demand base.

Solution: “New kind of industrial yard” as a multi-tenant campus

At the City Dock®, a total of fourteen units are available and represent the multi-tenant nature of the site and allow for various surface area sizes ranging from 1,000 m² to 1,580 m² and various usage profiles. This concept is supplemented by the Panattoni Park which comprises 17,700 m² of usable space as the second component of the campus solution. Overall, a site is created that doesn’t stand out due to its specialization, but instead, due to its diversity. Municipalities and economic developers therefore receive a scalable site offer for urban value creation that keeps companies within city limits and allows for new companies to establish themselves, while investors profit from a structure that is aimed at diversification and, thus, robustness. That is precisely what makes the campus a contemporary interpretation of the industrial yard: close to the city, flexible and designed for a variety of uses.

Implementation and market resonance: Successful letting as a quality indicator

The fact that this model meets the needs of urban markets is demonstrated in the high demand from a variety of industries. The Panattoni Park has been fully let since spring of 2023; the tenants include Midgard Naturkost & Reformwaren GmbH and ecotrade GmbH. At the City Dock®, spaces were let early on to the Hauptstadt Möblerei and Hildebrandt Veranstaltungstechnik.  The user statements reflect the core of the project: ecotrade refers to the good connection and ability to deliver goods quickly, while Hauptstadt Möblerei highlights the combination of the inner-city location, proximity to showrooms and suitable spaces. With eLed Tech GmbH moving in and the significant expansion of the space used by Hauptstadt Möblerei, further milestones were reached that highlight the practicality and scalability of the site.

Benefits of new construction and sustainability

Today, in order for spaces to function close to the city, they require standards that combine efficiency and sustainability. That is why Panattoni Campus Berlin Zentrum sets technical, ecological, economic and functional standards. For investors, this means, in particular, a sustainable level of quality that supports long-term leasability and ensures the property remains usable by third parties long-term; for municipalities and economic developers, the focus is on a city-compatible commercial offer that combines modern requirements with regard to energy, operations and functionality of the space. The project has been awarded the DGNB [German Association for Sustainable Construction] gold certificate and is supplemented by measures like a large photovoltaics system, smart metering and a district heating connection. These properties support the site’s position as a modern commercial site in the capital city region.

The successful sale to the DWS Group makes the campus a reference project for investors and proves that an urban, diversely usable commercial product can be connected to institutional capital. For municipalities and economic developers, this is also a strong market signal: City-compatible, flexible commercial offers with a high demand can not only be developed and fully let but also placed sustainably on the investment market.