In the Porz district on the right bank of the Rhine, Panattoni is developing a modern commercial and logistics property on a site formerly used by the chocolate manufacturer, Stollwerk. Two different types of buildings will be erected on the site, which measures around 69,400 m²: a logistics property, the Panattoni Park Köln Ost, and a business park, the City Dock® Köln Ost. Together, they will form the Panattoni Campus Köln Ost with a total of more than 42,000 m2 of lettable space.
With the ground-breaking on 09 June, the logistics, industrial and commercial property developer will start construction on the City Dock® Köln Ost. In late summer of 2026, construction will be started on the Panattoni Park Köln Ost. Both building complexes are scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The campus concept combines the logistics property, with a total surface area of around 33,200 m2, divided into 29,750 m2 of hall space, 1,490 m2 of office space and 1,990 m2 of mezzanine space and a building height of 12.2 m, and the business park, which will be comprised of 10 units with a total surface area of 12,450 m2 and a building height of 8 m.
Due to the various space concepts, different user requirements can be met at one site. The smaller City Dock® units are aligned with the needs of SMEs, trade companies and start-ups, while larger logistics, industrial and production companies will find suitable spaces at the Panattoni Park directly across the street. The two property concepts are divided into a shared lowered service yard, so the exterior spaces are efficiently used, and the surrounding areas are better protected from noise pollution.
The project is being developed in line with high sustainability standards and aims to become DGNB Platinum certified. The roof is equipped with a solar PV system, and the reuse and storage of rainwater ensure resource-efficient operations.
New economic impulses for the metropolitan region of Cologne
The future user groups from the logistics, industry, production and commercial sectors as well as SMEs and start-ups will profit from the well-connected location. The metropolitan region of Cologne and the right bank of the Rhine are ideally connected to the Panattoni Campus Köln due to the direct proximity to the A4 federal motorway and short routes to the A3, A59 and A559. The Köln-Bonn airport is 9 km away. The Köln-Eifeltor freight transport centre, which is significant for logistics throughout Germany, is only a few kilometres away. This allows for the integration of the site into multimodal logistics processes.
Dr. Manfred Janssen, Manging Director at KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH, accompanied the project over the years. He says, “The structural change and lack of commercial spaces are core challenges for Cologne. That is why, as is the case here at the Stollwerk site, existing commercial and industrial sites are being further developed in order to create spaces for economic transformation. That is how a sustainable environment for the Cologne of tomorrow can be successfully created in Porz.”
Fred-Markus Bohne, Managing Partner at Panattoni DACH & Nordics, explains, “The cooperation with KölnBusiness was and remains particularly close with regard to this development. Our mission: a usage matrix consisting of trade, light industrial and logistics–for the Stollwerk site and, as a result, for the entire region around the right bank of the Rhine. The former industrial site holds a lot of potential for this. What was once an economic engine for the city in the form of a chocolate factory will once again provide additional value for Cologne’s economy and will also offer ideal growth opportunities for regional, national and international companies.”
A site with historical significance
The Stollwerk chocolate factory has been tightly intertwined with the history of the metropolitan region of Cologne since the 1830s. The historic production sites on the left bank of the Rhine and, later, also the right bank, made an important economic contribution. From the 1970s until 2005, chocolate was produced for the global market in the Westhoven quarter in the Porz district. The product development and administrative departments remained there until 2015. Since then, large portions of the office spaces have been let. Other buildings and the site acted as a filming location for WDR and as a backdrop for Tatort Cologne [German procedural television show] and the former administrative building was used a TV police precinct. In the framework of preparation for construction, existing industrial halls and office buildings were demolished at the Stollwerk site.
HACKENBERG & CO. GmbH acted as broker during the site transaction and supported said process. The marketing of the lettable space was handled by Logivest NRW GmbH.
