Trei Real Estate GmbH (Trei), a property developer and property asset holder for residential and retail real estate, is being granted a building permit for its third mixed use residential and retail building in Berlin. The company will raze the single-storey supermarket at Fürstenberger Strasse 8—on the district boundary between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg—and replace it with a new fill-in development. The building to be developed will divide into a supermarket on the ground floor and six upper floors with rental apartments. Specifically, the complex will comprise 117 apartments of one to four bedrooms (total about 7.400 square metres) and an underground car park of 25 car parking spots. The supermarket on the ground floor will be leased back to the EDEKA grocery chain upon its completion. For the time being, this retailer still occupies the old structure. The architectural design comes from the architecture firm Stephan Höhne Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH. The total investment costs will add up to c. 45 million euros. The new-build asset is to be held long-term in Trei’s proprietary portfolio.
Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate, commented: “The supermarket on Fürstenberger Strasse 8 is predestined for an overbuild. It is the only low-rise building in an area dominated by closed perimeter blocks of four to seven upper floors. The location is highly attractive due to its proximity to the popular squares Arkonaplatz and Zionskirchplatz. We are convinced of the sustainability of the project and are planning to keep the finished building long-term in our portfolio.” Overbuilding single-story buildings can seriously contribute to the creation of urgently needed residential accommodation in Berlin. “In Berlin, 330 of these single-storey buildings qualify for an overbuild. This translates into a potential of 20.000 to 30.000 residential units,” Morshuis went on to elaborate.
The EDEKA supermarket is expected to close in the spring of 2020, with the demolition and subsequent start of construction work to begin directly after its closing. The completion is scheduled for spring 2022. In addition to the project at Fürstenberger Strasse 8, Trei is about to develop another three mixed residential/retail buildings in Berlin. The projects at Pappelallee 45 - 53 and on the corner of Winsstrasse and Marienburger Strasse, respectively, are already under construction. At either site, single-storey retail structures were razed and replaced with multi-storey developments featuring new commercial premises and residential units. For yet another project, this one on Köpenicker Strasse, the municipal development planning process is under way. All things considered, the company is investing c. 250 million euros in the development of around 750 rental flats and 8.000 square metres of retail units in Berlin.