Panattoni, the leading project developer for industrial and logistics real estate in Europe, marked the beginning of construction work for their project “Berlin M21” on Marzahner Strasse with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on 23 February 2022. The ceremony was attended by representatives of Panattoni and the general contractor Goldbeck, as well as business development representatives and the district mayor of Lichtenberg, Michael Grunst.
The regionally rooted wholesale company Midgard Naturkost & Reformwaren GmbH is the first user in this innovative project. The wholesaler is a subsidiary company of BIO COMPANY, an organic supermarket chain headquartered in Berlin. They predominantly acquire their goods from the region and offer a full range of organic products. From their base in Charlottenburg, Midgard supplies 63 BIO COMPANY branches in Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg and Dresden, as well as restaurants and canteens in the local area. They will be moving into the park in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Lichtenberg, at the end of 2022 and will be using a total of 10,500 m2 of hall space and 1,200 m2 of office and social space.
Dr Johannes Gaismayer, Managing Director of Midgard Naturkost & Reformwaren GmbH, commented on the rental as follows: “We are pleased that we can increase our capacity. As a company with its roots in Berlin, we are particularly glad of the location within the city. It will also give us sufficient space and has excellent infrastructural links, which will allow us to deliver to our clients quickly.”
The Berlin M21 project is coming to life in the heart of Berlin – in the district of Lichtenberg in the largest business park in Alt-Hohenschönhausen – with the first-ever campus solution, in which the two asset classes of business and logistics are combined. This will provide space for a wide variety of users, from small and mid-sized companies to light industry to logistics service providers. Thanks to its outstanding location – just 20 minutes from the eastern centre of Berlin – it is also an attractive location for last-mile business.
Commenting on the new development in the neighbourhood of Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Lichtenberg’s district mayor Michael Grunst (Die Linke, left-wing political party) said: “Our city is growing – and with it the need for commercial spaces. Because commercial spaces are essential for a functioning city structure in terms of secure supply. And it is all the more important that our commercial spaces are used efficiently. I am delighted that we will soon have another state-of-the-art business park here in Lichtenberg.”
M21 will bring a total of 35,400 m2 of usable industrial and commercial space. The Panattoni Park area occupies around 18,000 m2 in total and is divided into three independent rental areas each measuring approx. 5,000 m2. One unit with approx. 4,800 m2 is currently still available to rent. A business park with four buildings is also being developed. These buildings will have a total floor space of 17,400 m2, split between 14 units. Within the campus, renters will have access to 278 car parking spaces, 164 of which are in a multi-storey car park.
Within the scope of development work, Panattoni will be revitalising a “Treuhand” plot measuring 57,000 m2 – which was used as a warehouse for the foreign chemical trade during GDR times – by mid-2022. The demolition of the existing building measuring roughly 20,000 m2 started at the end of 2021. Panattoni is aiming for Gold certification from the German Sustainable Building Council for the construction of the new building. In order to ensure a low-emission energy supply, preparations are being made on parts of the roof for solar panels and checks are currently being carried out to determine whether it is possible to link up to the district heating network.
“We warmly welcome the first user to the new Panattoni Park Berlin M21. Midgard is a dynamic company with a history stretching back decades and with deep roots in Berlin. Today’s ground-breaking ceremony marks an important milestone in this unique project. With this development, we are sowing the seeds for the efficient rehabilitation of a site within an area with a strong industrial and commercial character,” comments Fred-Markus Bohne, Managing Partner at Panattoni.
Completion of M21 is scheduled for the end of 2022. Ingo Schulze from the Berlin branch of Colliers International Deutschland GmbH acted as broker, and the company is also marketing the project.
