The building shell of Frankfurt’s new “Skyline” shopping and leisure center has been completed. The topping out ceremony for the new shopping center in the “Europaviertel” district took place on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in the presence of Frankfurt’s Mayor Olaf Cunitz, and was celebrated by the project partners Allianz, CA Immo and ECE as well as the construction workers involved in the project. The shopping center with around 38,000 m2 of floor space and a parking lot to accommodate approximately 2,400 cars will open on August 29, 2013. The center will have two shopping floors housing 180 shops, cafes, restaurants and service enterprises. The range on offer in the Skyline Plaza will be supplemented by a high-quality leisure program including a fitness, wellness and bodycare MeridianSpa. On an area of approx. 9,200 m² including a spacious roof terrace, the – not only in terms of floor space – largest fitness and wellness center in Frankfurt is being created.

Investments in the shopping center have amounted to around EUR 360 million. Allianz will take an 80 % shareholding in the Skyline Plaza. It’s been sold by CA Immo Deutschland GmbH and ECE, although they have each retained a 10 % stake in the property. ECE will assume the long-term management of the center, which is set to create 1,200 jobs. The shopping center has already been distinguished by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), who awarded it the Pre-Certificate in Gold for sustainable planning and urban integration. 90% of the shopping center has already been leased. Among its tenants will be Peek & Cloppenburg, Zara, Media Markt, H&M as well as a REWE supermarket. A food court to accommodate approximately 400 people will provide visitors to the center with an extensive, highly varied range of culinary delights. In fact, with over 16 different operators, it is set to become Frankfurt’s largest food court.

The shopping center is a part of the new “Europaviertel” district located in the heart of Frankfurt. The district has sprung up over the last few years on the grounds of a former freight depot, and has become a place to live, work and shop in. The Skyline Plaza, due to its central location, serves to link up the Messe Frankfurt exhibition center, the banking district and the city center. The shopping center will be optimally connected to the public transport system, and quick and easy to reach by car, either from the city or from the highways.

Pictures to download in high resolution:
<link fileadmin bilder pressebilder skylineplazahi.1.jpg _blank download file>Visualisation Skyline Plaza
<link fileadmin bilder pressebilder skyline_plaza_dachgleiche.jpg _blank download file>Topping out ceremony
from right to left: Thorsten Wettke (Allianz), Jens-Ulrich Meier (ECE), Jens Hintze (ECE) Olaf Cunitz (Dezernent Planen und Wohnen, Frankfurt), Bernhard H. Hansen (CA Immo)

About Allianz Real Estate Germany GmbH
Allianz Real Estate Germany GmbH is responsible for the investment and asset management of real estate investments made by Allianz in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. It is a subsidiary of Allianz Real Estate GmbH, which serves as the strategic umbrella company for Allianz real estate investments. Allianz Real Estate Germany has offices in Frankfurt/Main and Stuttgart. Together with the branches in Berlin (north), Frankfurt/Main (central) and Munich (south), it manages a real estate portfolio with a market value of around EUR 5 billion.

CA Immo
CA Immo Deutschland is part of the European real estate investment company CA Immo, listed on the Vienna stock exchange. The CA Immo Group, with real estate assets worth around EUR 5.3 billion, is among Europe’s largest real estate companies. The Group’s core competencies are twofold. It specializes, on the one hand, in the management of existing buildings and, on the other, in the development of high quality real estate projects.

ECE – a strong partner
ECE develops, plans, builds, leases out, and manages large commercial real estate in the sectors shopping, office, industries since 1965 and is active in 16 European countries. The company is European market leader with 185 managed shopping centers (thereof 38 managed by METRO-ECE Centermanagement GmbH & Co KG (MEC)) and manages a project volume of around 23.5 billion euros. On an overall sales area of 6 million m², about 17,500 retail businesses generate 19 billion euros in annual sales. Among these centers are Potsdamer Platz Arka­den in Berlin, “Promenaden” at Leipzig central station, Alstertal-Einkaufzentrum in Hamburg, Serdika-Center in Sofia, Vremena Goda in Moscow, and Marmara Park in Istanbul. Another 11 shopping centers are currently under construction or planned throughout Europe. In the business units Office, Traffic and Industries, ECE realizes also other commercial properties such as the German Philips headquarters in Hamburg, the ThyssenKrupp Quarter in Essen or the Steigenberger hotel at the new Berlin Capital Airport BER.