Only a short walk from Essen city centre, a new site for economic opportunities has been built on an industrial site that lay fallow for a long time. Where once a coke plant dominated the cityscape, the City Dock® Essen Zentrum now offers modern commercial spaces for manufacturing, production, storage as well as repairs and sales that are immediately available to let. The property is not just the most inner-city City Dock® of its kind, it is also the second business park and the third project in Essen from the logistics, industrial and commercial property developer, Panattoni.
The City Dock® Essen Zentrum is comprised of three buildings with eight flexibly divisible units. In total, 8,790 m² of hall space (divisible into units starting at 1,070 m²), 3,020 m² of office space (divisible into units starting at 380 m²) and 2,960 m² of flexible use space (divisible into units starting at 370 m²) are available. These spaces are complemented by 156 passenger vehicle parking spaces as well as covered bicycle stands which are also designed for load wheels. The immediate proximity to Essen’s city centre and the public transport, which is reachable on foot, allows for efficient transport routes for companies and their employees as does the nearby A 40 federal motorway, which is fewer than ten minutes away.
The flexibly designable spaces are available for immediate occupancy. Conversations with potential tenants are already underway. “The lack of space in metropolitan regions also poses a major challenge for Essen as an economic location. The demand from small and medium-sized companies from a wide variety of industries for high-quality spaces far exceeds the space available,” says Andre Boschem, Managing Director of Essener Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (EWG). “Das City Dock® Essen Zentrum is therefore a central component to, in particular, making flexible spaces available to production and trade companies as well as service providers and strengthening economic development in the area.”
EWG was involved in the project from the onset and continues to support the process of finding users with a strong regional network. The collaboration shows how developers and municipalities can create added value for the city.
Modern workspaces with ecological benefit
Particular focus was placed on sustainability throughout the entire development process. The City Dock® Essen Zentrum was therefore awarded the DGNB gold certificate in accordance with the sustainability criteria set forth by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen [German Association for Sustainable Construction e.V. The measures include a photovoltaics system on the entire surface of the roof and heating with air-to-air heat pumps in the halls as well as an air-to-water heat pump in the offices. Rainwater and a total of 18 electric vehicle charging stations for passenger vehicles and 16 charging stations for bicycles additionally contribute towards energy efficiency. Green and recreational areas, including a wildflower meadow, fruit trees, an insect hotel and a well-being zone with a BBQ area, basketball court, outdoor lounge chairs and a table tennis table create an attractive working environment and support indigenous flora and fauna.
From coke plant to business park: Successful revitalisation
After the City Dock® Essen and the Panattoni Park Essen, the company sustainably transformed another former industrial site in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region with the City Dock® Essen Zentrum. Thus, the project developer has made an important contribution towards structural change in Essen. The approximately 24,850 m² site was historically marked by mining and coke production activities and had not been used for many years. The existing building, which is still owned by the Georgsmarienhütte Unternehmensgruppe (GMH Group) was structurally separated, and the unused existing building was completely demolished. The site includes, among other things, an approx. 1,000 metre deep, now sealed mineshaft. As part of the comprehensive revitalisation process, the severe soil contamination from creosote was remedied. Thus, Panattoni was able to further develop the site into modern and commercially valuable spaces and open up new spaces for Essen-based companies to grow and optimise their business.
“We successfully completed our most demanding revitalisation project in the Ruhr region, says Fred-Markus Bohne Managing Partner at Panattoni DACH and Nordics. “Central locations, short routes, flexible units, synergistic effects and a sustainable development using the existing structures are the foundational pillars of our City Dock® concept. With its exceptionally central location in the city centre, the City Dock® Essen Zentrum is the most central of its kind and thus a prime example of how urban reachability and economic performance can perfectly align with each other.”
Thomas Kufen, Mayor of the City of Essen, adds, “With regard to commercial property development, we consistently rely on the reuse and mobilisation of brownfields in Essen. Projects like the City Dock® Essen Zentrum impressively highlight the potential former industrial sites offer. The fact that a leader in project development in Europe like Panattoni has already completed its third project in Essen highlights the attractiveness of our economic location and the confidence in its future sustainability.”
Ruhr Real will act as lead real estate broker and handle the leasing of the finished spaces.
