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(Visited 238 times, 1 visits today)
  • Transaction / Assets
    Expo area in Milan
  • Seller
    Arexpo
  • Buyer
    LendLease
  • € MM
    671

The Expo area to LendLease for 99 years

10 November, Avvenire Milano

There is a name and there is a definitive economic offer. The consortium guided by LendLease will implement the masterplan and develop the area that hosted Expo 2015. The confirmation came yesterday, when Giuseppe Bonomi, Arexpo Ceo, the owner of the area, signed the official document of adjudication. LendLease will have the concession of the whole area for the next 99 years. In Exchange, the company will pay to Arexpo 671 million euro, current value, that means a final amount of two billion euro altogether., considering an inflation of 2%.

It was almost certain that LendLease would have been the winner. It was clear on 23rd October, when the Arexpo president Giovanni Azzone, leading the committee evaluating the projects, opened the envelops of the two companies that presented the binding offers. Besides LendLease, the other company was the consortium guided by Stam Europe, with base in Paris, that made a less convenient offer from a technical point of view (70 points to Lendlease, 46 to Stam) as well as for what concerns the development of the masterplan (1 million for LendLease and 2.9 for Stam) and the economic offer, 5% less than that of its competitor.

Bonomi is happy with the result and speaks about “an offer of great technical and economic value from a leading company at global level”.

The next step for the winner is the presentation of the draft of the masterplan in the following weeks, including the development from 250 to 480 thousand Sq m, adding other 30 thousand Sq m for social housing and at least 44 thousand Sq m of park with the creation of a public green area.

“The masterplan is the foundation for the definition of the final project that will be definitive for all the subjects involved, institutions included”, clarified Bonomi. In fact, the area will accommodate “three public functions”. All three of them will concur to implement a park dedicated to science, research and innovation. There is the Galeazzi Hospital that last August signed a purchase contract for 25 million euro to build a new hub for healthcare and research, works are expected to begin by the first months of 2018. There is then the Human Technopole, the centre dedicated to diagnostic medicine with headquarters in Palazzo Italia. The first researchers and administrative personnel will start working here by December. Finally, the science faculties of Università Statale should be moving from the current Città Studi. The university is looking for the necessary funding for the implementation, for an investment of 380 million euro, one-third of which will come from the Region and the State, other 130 million will be loaned from banks, and the remainder will come from the sale of properties in Città Studi. This is the missing piece, after the alleged interest of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, now the university is looking for a potential buyer.

Finally, the private companies that have applied to open their offices in the area complete the picture. So far, there are over 50 manifestations of interest from national and international players.

Source: Avvenire Milano

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi