Client story

Flairwood & Spinelli - Sustainable investment in innovative housing.

Two planned timber construction buildings at BUGA 2023 are looking for an investor. JLL markets them and successfully convinces a foreign fund to invest in residential real estate in Germany for the first time.

Location

Mannheim

Square Metres

5.000 sqm

Spotlight

High ESG standards

Value

Price confidential

„Working with JLL was not only professional throughout, but was also particularly enjoyable because the team was infected by our enthusiasm for innovative products off the beaten track.“

Jan H. Eitel, Executive Partner, Quartiersmanufaktur

Ambition

When the BUGA Federal Garden Show in Mannheim opens its gates in 2023, the Flairwood and Spinelli showcase projects will also attract visitors' attention - two timber construction residential properties with high ESG standards, located directly on the promenade. JLL was commissioned with the transaction when construction began in 2021. The developer, Quartiersmanufaktur GmbH & Co. KG, was looking for a purchaser for the project to be built on the site of a former US Army barracks as part of an urban residential neighbourhood including infrastructure, local amenities, a school, day-care centres and a park.

The sale was to be realised as part of a forward funding deal which, in addition to the previous brownfield site and the complexity of the different types of use, posed a further marketing challenge. It is planned to create approx. 5,000 sqm of rental space in the two buildings, with 67 privately financed and publicly subsidised apartments of various sizes including flat-sharing communities and retirement flats. 480 sqm in the attractive ground-floor zone can also be used for commercial purposes.

ESG standards and holistic concept as drivers.

JLL offered convincing arguments at every stage of the transaction, from marketing to sale. Detailed preparations and close collaboration at all levels supported those responsible at Quartiersmanufaktur in their decision-making. With their clearly structured process, JLL managed the transaction in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

The ESG qualities of the properties played a central role in the marketing process: timber construction, the highest energy efficiency standards (KfW-40) and innovative housing concepts represent sustainability and social aspects which are in increasing demand in the rental housing market. Interest from national and international investors was correspondingly high. Exceptional properties like this are rare.

From pole position at BUGA to success.

The deal was concluded with Invesco Real Estate, the global real estate investment manager. Flairwood and Spinelli are the first residential investment carried out in Germany by the European Living Fund launched in August 2020; a decision that is also attributed to the impressive work undertaken by JLL. The team supported both sides with its considerable expertise and was thereby able to mediate and conclude the complex deal to everyone's satisfaction.

The two timber construction residential buildings will enrich the forthcoming Federal Garden Show as part of the building exhibition. This is an innovative showcase project that meets the current zeitgeist - and a tremendous bonus for the city of Mannheim. The derelict military site will become a new destination that will continue to attract people long after the gates of BUGA 2023 have closed for the last time.