(Düsseldorf) – Hines, a global real estate investment, development and property manager, can announce its first leasing success at ‘Le Coeur’, in Düsseldorf's city center, to Clifford Chance for over 5,100 square meters on a long-term lease. Clifford Chance is expected to move into ‘Le Coeur’ by 2026.
Currently under construction, ‘Le Coeur’, meaning ‘The Heart’, is set to become a new, all-around impressive centerpiece in Düsseldorf with a total of c.47,000 square meters of the highest-quality office and retail space being created. Alongside this, standout highlights include the publicly accessible and landscaped inner courtyard and the curated terraces with breathtaking views over the city.
The regeneration places particular emphasis on both ecological and social criteria, and Hines will be pursuing platinum DGNB certification for ‘Le Coeur’. A large part of the existing structure from the 1980s will be retained, with the gutting and demolition work expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023. As part of this, almost all of the natural stone slabs of the previous façade will be reused with a majority of the above-ground inventory being preserved. Furthermore, the vertically greened rear facades and inner courtyard make an ecological and social contribution to the entire neighborhood.
Hines acquired the former Commerzbank building "KOE37" at the end of 2020 in a joint venture with a German pension fund. ‘Le Coeur’ intends to open up completely new perspectives for Königsallee. The ensemble of old and new buildings with different facades aims to offer an attractive, unprecedented connection between the city center and Carlstadt. The Kö-Quartier, Carlsquartier, Kasernenstraße and Benrather Karre, all projects already realized by Hines, are located in the immediate vicinity.
Benjamin Biehl, managing director at Hines in Germany, says: "We are very excited about the development of our new project on the Kö. ‘Le Coeur’ will form a new state-of-the-art and ESG-focused center right where the pulse of the city beats. With Clifford Chance, we have secured an internationally renowned tenant for our current project in the heart of Düsseldorf. Our aim is to deliver a high-quality development with ‘Le Coeur’, which will open up to the Königsallee through its architecture and creates a connection to the banking district. In doing so, we will preserve a large part of the existing building stock. ‘Le Coeur’ intends to offer best-in-class architectural quality in a unique location with Düsseldorf named as one of the top 5 office rental markets in Germany[1]. This leasing success, achieved during the project’s development stage, is testament to this."
Dr. Christian Vogel, local managing partner for Clifford Chance in Düsseldorf, adds: "At Clifford Chance, we stand for the highest quality legal advice for our national and international clients. We are therefore delighted that our future office will not only continue to be centrally located in Düsseldorf, but that we have also found a property that suits us perfectly. It is modern, yet comprehensively sustainable and tailored to the requirements of the working world of today and tomorrow."
In Germany, Clifford Chance is represented by around 300 lawyers, auditors, tax advisors and solicitors in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.
Hines was legally advised by ROTTHEGE and Clifford Chance was advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate under an exclusive search mandate. The two architectural firms Pickard Chilton and RKW Architektur + advised on the development phase of the project.
[1] Source – Cushman & Wakefield
About Hines
Hines is a global real estate investment, development and property manager. The firm was founded by Gerald D. Hines in 1957 and now operates in 28 countries. We manage a $92.3B¹ portfolio of high-performing assets across residential, logistics, retail, office, and mixed-use strategies. Our local teams serve 634 properties totaling over 225 million square feet globally. We are committed to a net zero carbon target by 2040 without buying offsets.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 17 cities as well as a presence in 79 cities in 14 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately €25.3 billion and provides third-party property-level services totaling 4.7 million square meters in Europe, in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
To learn more about Hines, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.
¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2022.
