Panattoni Europe to develop a logistics centre in the Ruhr

• Panattoni Logistics Park to be built in business-centric location Essen
• Facility to be constructed on a Brownfield site without pre-letting
• Completion scheduled for October 2020

Panattoni Europe, the leading project developer for industrial and logistics premises in Europe, is constructing a Logistics Park in Essen. Around 23,134m2 of logistic space, 1,215m2 of office space, and 1,575m2 of mezzanine areas will be built on a site of around 43,220m2. With its 10-metre clearance height (to underside of roof truss), the logistics centre can be divided into three areas and can therefore be used by three different tenants. These areas allow for flexible use. Each unit includes logistic, office and mezzanine space, and multiple areas can be combined within each unit.

The park can be accessed by more than 20 loading ramps as well as three entrance gates on ground level. Furthermore, around 194 parking spaces for cars and 12 for lorries will be created. A modern and sustainable LED lighting system will be installed in the whole building, including the outside facilities. In addition, the construction of the property will meet the requirements of sustainable construction according to the DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) Gold Standard.

The excellent transport links as well as the business-centric location of Essen are particular strong points in the construction of the Logistic Park. The property is located on Lüscherhofstraße, close to the harbour in Essen. It comprises trimodal infrastructure with connections to the canal ports and container terminals, as well as daily railway links to the vital logistics sites of Hamburg and Bremerhaven.

Furthermore, the logistics centre is well connected to several motorways, such as the A3, A42, and A516, which are within a few short kilometres of the site. Düsseldorf and Dortmund airports are also less than an hour’s drive, and the Dutch border a mere 50 km away, making the location stand out even more.

“Essen is an important location for business and the region plays a vital role in logistics. With its high population density and being home to many significant companies, the Ruhr is a hotspot for logistics and an attractive market for commercial goods,” explains Fred-Markus Bohne, Managing Partner of Panattoni Europe.

The Logistics Park will be developed on a Brownfield site. Panattoni Europe will undertake extensive demolition and restoration works to this end. The existing buildings, some of which are more than 60 years old, and the underground tanks have to be deconstructed and disposed of correctly, and the soil also has to be replaced. These measures are necessary in order to create the space required for the modern logistics centre.

The project developer is not pre-letting the property, but is confident of finding tenants once the construction phase has begun. “Another decisive advantage of the site in Essen is the large number of employees available to start work at short notice. There is an ongoing and acute lack of skilled workers for the logistics sector in the whole country. But here in Essen the situation is a little better, and this factor will speed up the letting process,” continues Fred-Markus Bohne.

Panattoni Europe is set to begin the demolitions work in January 2020, with construction starting in February 2020. The building is then scheduled for completion in October 2020. The site’s deal was brokered by the logistics properties consultant Realogis Düsseldorf, who was also awarded the marketing contract for the Panattoni Park.