“twentyone” Office Scheme in Berlin Completed

• New-build office scheme at Saarbrücker Strasse provides 6,150 sqm of gross floor area
• Active asset management: optimal use and development of brownfield site
• Almost fully let to Ebner & Stolz and ZenJob
• Trendsetting architecture by Sergei Tchoban

Hamburg, 13 March 2024 – HIH Invest Real Estate (“HIH Invest”) just announced the completion of its “twentyone” office scheme in Berlin. The new building at Saarbrücker Strasse 21 in the Prenzlauer Berg district supplements a building cluster on the grounds of the former Königstadt brewery that HIH Invest manages on behalf of an institutional investor. Integrated planning services for the building were provided by NDC Projektentwicklung GmbH. Its architecture was masterminded by the renowned architectural firm, Tchoban Voss.

The “twentyone” building comprises a gross floor area of 6,150 square metres on six upper floors. They are complemented by two basement levels that feature plant rooms, sanitary facilities and storage rooms as well as an underground car park that includes twelve spots equipped with hookups for EV charging stations. A patio on the first floor, a roof terrace on top of the recessed storey, and a Japanese garden on the ground floor add up to a total of 406 square metres of terrace space.

The building is almost fully let. The ZenJob recruitment agency occupies 2,915 square metres while the Ebner & Stolz auditing and consultancy firm rents 2,150 square metres along with storage areas and parking spots. Martin Schubert, Head of Branch Lettings Berlin at HIH Real Estate, elaborated on the successful signings: “The requirements that corporate tenants specify for their premises have been subject to drastic changes over the past years. Priorities include flexible layout options, high-quality units, an optimal location, and convenient transport links. With these in mind, we have addressed the current challenges of the letting market. What companies get from us are consulting services tailored to their needs, including bespoke office designs. It was this approach that convinced our clients of the merits of renting space at the twentyone.”

The asset management of HIH Real Estate developed the concept design for the building—which now blends harmoniously with the existing building cluster—during the challenging times of the COVID pandemic, and subsequently controlled its implementation with the commissioned architect and property developer.

In architectonic terms, the task was to observe the building conservation constraints imposed on the former brewery grounds and to dig out and integrate an archaeological landmark, namely the historic beer cellar of the Königstadt brewery. In order to provide an unobstructed view of the historic maltings building, the new structure was built with an open steel and glass façade and an angled cantilever structure for the upper floors. The property’s highlights include, aside from its state-of-the-art technical fit-out, a small wind turbine that provides the building with electricity.

“In our role as asset manager, we explore all options for unlocking the value of a given property. Identifying and exploiting land development potential is part of the job. Seeking to put a brownfield plot on the grounds to optimal use, we created a highly presentable building on it. We managed the property development during the entire implementation phase in our role as principal contractor, and are proud to say now that we managed to complete it on schedule even in these challenging times,” said Frank Kindermann, Head of Asset Management at HIH Real Estate.

The cluster also includes another two properties. One of them, the old maltings at Saarbrücker Strasse 20, dates back to the 19th century and is part of the historic building stock of the former Königstadt brewery. The other property is Königstadt-Terrassen, a mixed office and retail building located at Schönhauser Allee 10-11 and completed in 1997.

BNP Paribas Real Estate acted as lead estate agent for the rental units.