Overall building permit for the Elbtower granted

• Excavation pit and foundation on schedule

The Department for Urban Development and Housing of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has granted the overall building permit for the Elbtower. “This marks the next milestone for the building of the Elbtower,” says Timo Herzberg, CEO SIGNA Real Estate. “All the planning permissions have been obtained and construction can start at the end of 2022 once the excavation pit has been completed and the seller has signed over the land.” The contract stipulates that the property cannot be handed over by the City of Hamburg until the complete and verifiable building application is submitted, the pre-letting quota has been met and the overall financing has been proven.

Even before the official construction start date, the Elbtower is already enjoying high demand from prospective tenants, with around 30% of the total space already let. “We are in advanced negotiations with further companies,” says Timo Herzberg. “We will be able to announce further tenants shortly.”

Foundation work proceeding according to plan

SIGNA had already begun preparatory construction work at the end of September 2021 on the basis of the partial building permit for the excavation pit and the foundation components. On the Elbbrücken site, sealing walls and diaphragm walls are being built for the excavation pit enclosure over an area of around 21,000 m² (the equivalent of about 3 football pitches). The pile foundations have been under construction in parallel since the beginning of 2022. “When a building rises 245 metres into the sky, it needs a particularly secure footing,” says Torben Vogelgesang, Hamburg Branch Manager of SIGNA Real Estate. “Therefore, the Elbtower has its foundations on exceptionally long piles. A total of 63 suspension-supported pile foundations with a diameter of 2 metres and a length of 75 metres will be produced over the next few months and will anchor the tower to Hamburg.”

The Elbtower – a high-point of architectural and urban development

The 245m-high and 64-storey Elbtower was designed by the renowned architectural firm David Chipperfield Architects. The Elbtower will occupy the eastern end of HafenCity, visible from a distance, and will herald Hamburg’s city entrance on the Norderelbe and the new adjacent major urban development projects Grasbrook and Billebogen.

With their innovative layouts, the publicly accessible lower floors will offer a variety of shops, restaurants, co-working spaces and cultural uses. In this way they will form a public space for Elbtower users and visitors. Here, office users, hotel guests, tourists and Hamburg residents will find a high-quality environment inviting them to linger. Nobu Hospitality will open its first hotel and restaurant in Germany in the Elbtower. The tower itself offers state-of-the-art office space that can be flexibly configurated, providing a home for the working world of tomorrow, including that of Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB). An incomparable view of the city opens up from the public viewing level at a height of 225 metres. Particular importance was attached to the sustainability of the building, which will also meet the highest energy standards.

About SIGNA

SIGNA Real Estate has been developing and managing outstanding real estate projects in central locations in Germany and Austria for over 20 years. An experienced team of real estate experts manages all activities from acquisition to project completion and meets the highest standards in terms of profitability, technology and sustainability. Reliability, fairness and adherence to deadlines are at the forefront of the cooperation with the project partners. These values, which are also firmly set in the corporate philosophy of the company founded by René Benko, make SIGNA a recognised partner.

The portfolio includes the KaDeWe and the Upper West Tower at the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin, the spectacular Elbtower high-rise project in Hamburg’s HafenCity, the premium department store Alsterhaus in Hamburg as well as the Oberpollinger and the revitalisation of the Alte Akademie in Munich. In Austria, the premium hotel Park Hyatt Vienna and the Goldenes Quartier business district are among the outstanding existing properties.

With these projects, SIGNA is making important contributions to urban development. In doing so, SIGNA focuses on the individual property as well as rethinking topics such as inner city development, sustainability, diversity of use, networking and mobility – to create cities for everyone to enjoy.

Enquiries:

SIGNA
Sebastian Schmidt
PR Manager
M: ed.angis@tdimhcs.s
T: +49 30 700 108 900