Tag: developments

Who is on the Parnasi assets

27 March, Milano Finanza

Something is moving for the Parnasi assets of Capital Dev, a UniCredit subsidiary and guided by Claudio Calabi. The company has started making the first steps in the enhancement of its real estate assets at the beginning of 2017 with the objective of optimizing the efforts of its parent company UniCredit. In fact, Capital Dev is the special purpose vehicle 100% owned by UniCredit that gathers all the assets coming from Parsitalia (the company of the group Parnasi), except for the building rights on the land where Parnasi plans to build the new Roma FC stadium. The company has a 450 million debt towards UniCredit. According to some analysists, the bank might not collect all its credit. In any case, the bank hasn’t made yet its assessments, limiting at the moment at registering the interests of investors on some assets. The portfolio of the company led by Calabi is mainly composed by five development projects, four in Rome and one in Catania and, as already said, the interest of the market is definitely a positive factor. According to Milano Finanza, some investors might have already made proposals, providing solutions allowing UniCredit to deconsolidate its holdings in Capital Dev. The most interesting proposal came from doBank (a company owned by the group Fortress) that has already worked with UniCredit on some operations. Pimco has also expressed its interest, acting together Gwm and York. It’s clear that the propolis, all different from each other and in different advancement stages (doBank might be already ahead with the assessments) will mean some sacrifices for UniCredit and this is a crucial detail in the evaluation phase. Two other players, one coming from finance, the other from the industrial sector, are interested especially in one asset, namely the Laurentino shopping centre.

At this stage, Capital Dev has to consider two options: whether to find just one partner and sign a single offer or whether to start different negotiations for each asset of the portfolio.

As always in these cases, time will be decisive. In fact, some investors believe that the operations haven’t been either regular or fast so far, and they hope for the dossier to be examined by UniCredit in order to take prompt decisions. It seems like many investors are not willing to wait for much longer. It’s the case, for instance, of LendLease, the Australian giant that has been involved in the past few years in one development project and has subscribed a conditional agreement related to the Pescaccio shopping centre.

The Capital Dev most interesting development projects are indeed the two shopping centres. One is the Maximo Shopping Centre, developing along Via Laurentina (close to Eur), for a total surface of 60,500 Sq m, featuring about 135 shops, a multiplex cinema with 1,300 seats, a fitness centre and a food hall facing on a big square. Capital Dev has recently started the construction site and has also appointed the general contractor, Colombo Costruzioni. The second asset is Pescaccio, the biggest. On the Parsitalia website, it reads that the shopping centre (located south-west of Rome), will have total a capacity of 315 thousand Sq m. However, some things have changed compared to the initial project, and this is one of the reasons why works have stopped. Before Parsitalia ended up in liquidation and the assets were transferred to Capital Dev of UniCredit, basically converting the exposure, LendLease had signed an agreement with Parnasi for the development of Pescaccio. The area had been planned years ago and it was clear from the beginning that the operation needed a revision of the urban plan to reduce the total surface, rather than building more. The negotiations have restarted in the past few weeks, both with the Municipality of Rome and with the banks claiming the biggest exposures on the Pescaccio asset. One of these creditors is the German Aareal Bank, with a credit of 160 million, in addition to the 450 of UniCredit, bringing the total exposure to 600 million. LendLease has expressed its interest since the beginning of the implementation of the project, and it might be even willing to finance the development. However, the operation has been stuck for years. Therefore, LendLease may also decide to step back since it’s very unlikely it will obtain an answer in the upcoming months. LendLease, after all, is already committed for important projects in Italy, starting from the development of Santa Giulia and of Arexpo in Milan.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Milan, the racecourse might be sold

16 March, La Repubblica

The racecourse is for sale. There are more and more rumours about the possible sale of the area owned by Snai in San Siro. There is not only the racecourse, that closed in 2012 and is located just beside the football stadium, for which there might be already a preliminary agreement signed with Coima, the real estate company of Manfredi Catella. There is also La Maura, the tracks for trot competitions, which has also got the attention of Coima.

The success of the operation depends on two factors. One is the Territorial zoning plan (Pgt) which will be discussed in the upcoming weeks, the other the destine of the stadium San Siro. In fact, the two football teams present in the territory, Milan and Inter, are also considering the areas. The entry of Coima has changed the cards on the table, even though an agreement satisfying all the parties is very likely. It’s not by chance that the City of Milan has always stated that San Siro has to be open to future development projects in the area.

The only certainty is that Snai is intending to enhance the area. And the retrocession of the tracks La Maura in the classification of the national tracks seems to be going in the same direction. The experts noted that the horse tracks that have been recently downgraded were those owned by Sani, in San Siro and in Montecatini. Just a chance? Perhaps. However, the owner of the areas has never hidden in the past few years the will to sell the land.

There are no particular restrictions. Dispute the requests from the environmentalist associations of the past few years, the only restriction concerns the horse tracks and the district of Trenno. La Maura is more protected since it’s included in Parco Sud, but this can be easily solved. “We’ve since long understood that Snai prefers concrete over horses- says Enrico Fedrighini of the Green Party -, we hope that a responsible developer as Catella will understand the necessity of the neighbourhood. We need services, not houses. The Pgt might be an opportunity, as long as it aims at urban equalization. To do so, it’s necessary to listen to residents”.

Source: La Repubblica

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Rome, new developments for Tiburtina

03 March, Il Sole 24 Ore

“We must bet on a city that is developing following the transport system, but we need to try solutions that reshape the current regulation, where returns are not the only parameter considered”. Luca Montuori, City Councillor for urban planning for the City of Rome, refers to the idea of “Reinventing Cities” that is inspired by “Reinvernter Pairs”. “We hope to be able to engage investors and the networks already present on the territory to regenerate difficult areas”.

Among his priorities, there is the are of Tiburtina. The model to look at seems to be Garibaldi station in Milan. The area, in fact, has become the BNL headquarters, and Ferrovie dello Stato has been looking for partnerships to create a hotel, while Istat is considering it for its protentional new offices. BNL itself is working on a masterplan regarding the surrounding areas, continuing building along the train tracks till Ponte Lanciani and implementing a big park near the hospital Sandro Pertini. In the meanwhile, Acer has launched a tender for the Tiburtina area to gather solutions for the urban regeneration of the three areas of Via Galla Placidia, Cia Cupa and the for the metro station Quintiliani.

Among the most awaited projects in Rome, there is the reconversion of the old barracks in Via Guido Remi, in front of Maxxi, for which the administrators are supposed to close shortly the agreement with Cdp to launch the recovery plan. “We want to launch a tender for projects concerning the creation of a library and public services”, said Montuori. “and we plan to reinvest the proceeds of the operation in a culture hub extending till Auditorium”.

The Arbitration Board has recently rejected the request of Investimenti Spa for an indemnity of 150 million due to the reduction of the buildable surface from 67 to 45 Sq m in the old expo area as decided by the municipal administration. “We’ll design a multifunctional space on an area of little more than 40 thousand Sq m, and we’ll proceed with a tender to define as soon as possible the project and the operational plan”, says the City Councillor. In the meanwhile, the campus Bio-Medico Spa has launched a tender inviting about ten Italian and international students to define the masterplan for a 90 hectares area, 66 of which are still to be developed. The Ministry of Defence is thinking about a maxi reorganization plan to concentrate the several military facilities now scattered around the city in just one location in Centocelle. This is an optimization process, implying the construction of a “military hub” as well as the enhancement of the properties that will be vacated.

Assets enhancement is a sector not all affected by the crisis in Rome, especially for properties reconverted into hotels. “Over the past five years, we’ve implemented ten hotels near the Pantheon under the brand Autograph Collection by Marriott and signed by Studio Marco Piva. The works took about ten months for the creation of 80 rooms and an investment for 9 million”. Emilio Pacini, head of Pacini Building Workshop, speaks about the business model of his company that acquires properties to renovate, it puts them on the market in a short time and takes care directly of the management. Inarcassa is also carrying out a remarkable operation on an asset of its portfolio, recently acquired by the dedicated property fund Inarcassa RE managed by Fabrica sgr. The intervention concerns the reconversion into a hotel (under a Spanish boutique hotel brand) of Galleria Regina Margherita, strategically close to tourist attractions and the transport system. The Bnl offices in Via Veneto will be also reconverted into a luxury hotel, with the project signed by the studio of Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel.

Finally, the stadium. The company Eurnova of the group Parnasi is currently working on adjusting the project to the provisions following the services conference, especially concerning the infrastructural and environmental elements. There won’t be new residences in Tor di Valle, but only offices, a hotel and a commercial space serving the stadium.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

 

 

International investments to relaunch real estate development

28 December, Linkedin

The recent news coming from the Italian market are definitely interesting, especially for what concerns the international capitals invested in urban development and requalification operations. Not only assets acquisitions, especially core assets. It’s true that most of these operations take place in Milan, but the fact that the big capitals are investing again to create new products is certainly remarkable. The latest news concerns the joint venture between Varde and Borio Mangiarotti for the implementation of a project for a value of about 250 million euro in the western part of Milan (12 metro stops from Duomo). Then, there are also the project by LendLease on the former Expo area, for which the company is awaiting the results of the Stam trial, and the recovery operation of Santa Giulia. A mighty commitment in terms of requalification for both areas, of strategic importance for Milan.

Then, there is Hines, which is investing in the residential segment, or better, in the “living” segment, offering diversified and specific living solutions. Blackstone continues investing (in the meantime, the company has started disinvesting some assets), Barings, and so on. 2017 will close the corporate market with values close to 10 billion euro, while we’re waiting for the numbers for 2018. The various segments, however, have changed their weights within the real estate offer: logistics is rising thanks to the growth of e-commerce, retail is going down, confirming the same values of 2016. Funds, Italian as well as international, have seen very important acquisitions, such as that by DeA Capital RE SGR for the Edison headquarter in Milan, the single deal of the year, with 272 million euro, along with the operation in Rome for the Scarpellini assets. Always in Rome, the stadium project is finally starting, even though without the office part as initially planned. Moreover, some operations that were on hold are about to restart. From this point of view, it’ unlikely 2018 will be worse than 2017. On the overall, even though the market spins around Milan, 2018 might be the year of the consolidation of real estate at a national level, with a better development approach. Finally, we’ve started seeing new constructions for more houses, a new residential offer that Italy needed so badly.

The political uncertainty, with the elections coming on March as well as the regional elections in Lombardy, is a big factor to determine the trends of the market. According to some, the result will be another Government with a weak majority subject to the President of the Republic and, consequently, to Brussels. Let’s just hope that at least 60% of the Italians will vote, otherwise, this will be another sign of a divided country, with a part of people that don’t trust politicians anymore.

Source: Linkedin

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

The American Värde investing 250 million in Milan

27 December, Il Sole 24 Ore

After Porta Nuova and the ex-Expo area, just to name a few projects, Milan confirms its status of city capable of attracting foreign investments for big urban regeneration projects. The last one in order of time is “Park West”, for the requalification of 400 thousand Sq m in the south-western suburbs of the city, close to the Bisceglie metro station.

The American Fund Värde Partnership has signed a joint venture agreement with the Milan-based company Borio Mangiarotti, owner of the land, for the implementation of a maxi-project aimed at creating a 24-hectares park (assigned to the French landscape architect Michel Desvigne) and a developable area of 120 thousand Sq m for mixed use (houses, offices, and commercial spaces). The masterplan is signed by the firm Mario Cucinelli Architects.

“Milan is going through a flourishing phase – notes the Ceo of Borio Mangiarotti, Edoardo De Albertis -. This alliance shows how innovative partnerships in an attractive city such as Milan can be interesting for international investors”.

The research of a financial partner started at the beginning of 2017 and was coordinated by Vitale & Co Real Estate, obtaining seven manifestations of interest, all from abroad. At the end of the process, Värde was selected, a long-term partner of Borio Mangiarotti for other urban requalification projects concerning suburbs. Among these, there is also the development of the nearby Via Parri, where 750 residential units have already been built on municipal agreement, as well as a park and several services. Then, there is the development and reorganization of the area in Via Silva and of some other vacant public buildings financed by Cdp.

The Park West operation, which has been recently closed thanks to the legal support from the firm Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners, sees the investment of about 250 million euro for the creation of a special purpose company that Värde will own for 90%, while the remaining quota will be held by Borio Mangiarotti, that will take care of the development phase of the project.

The agreement shows the interest of foreign capitals in Milan, as well as the interest of the American fund for Italy, with the acquisition in April of the group Boscolo Hotels. It’s remarkable that the fund decided to invest in the project even before the first stone was set. After some initial delay, the operation is now ready to start. In fact, the area has been already set for construction, while in the next weeks the administrative procedures will be completed, and the reclamation operations will start. “If everything goes according to the plan, – says De Albertis – we’ll be able to start the construction site in 2019 and the new neighbourhood will be ready in five or six years”.

The masterplan is signed by Cucinella Architects and sees the creation of a park as big as Parco Sempione, the implementation of over one thousand free and regulated residences, 30 thousand Sq m of offices and 10 thousand Sq m for commercial services.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

From the ex-Expo area to the Prada Foundation: all the areas worth investing in Milan

14 December, La Repubblica

Who is intending to invest in real estate will have to consider the city map and know its future evolutions. The experts noted that in the next years more than 15 million Sq m scattered around the city limits will be deeply transformed. New interconnected centres will rise here: from the former Expo area to the bordering Cascina Merlata, from the reconversion of the train stations to the projects for the big industrial sites such as Falck and Marelli. “These new projects will be able to relaunch entire spaces and areas of the city – reads the study – improving the quality of life in the suburbs just outside the city centre and attracting new residents from the neighbouring cities all around Milan”.

In the southern part of Milan, there are some important requalification operations going on such as that of the old milk factory in Via Castelbarco that will accommodate the campus of the University Bocconi and the Symbiosis area which will host the future Fastweb headquarters located just beside the Prada Foundation.

Whereas the west of the city will see the transformation of the area that hosted the Universal Exposition into the new location of the science faculties of Università Statale and of the research centre financed by the Government Human Technopole. The east, in the former Segrate Customs House, where now there are demolition and reclaim activities going on, will accommodate Westfield Milan, the biggest shopping centre in Europe with its 185 thousand Sq m of shops and restaurants.

Source: La Repubblica

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Campus, amusement park, hotel. The Arab investors relaunch the operation

04 December, Corriere della Sera

The construction sites might start next year when the reclamation works will be completed on the whole former Falck area. MilanoSesto, owned by the entrepreneur Davide Bizzi, archived the works for Città della Salute, owner of the land in Sesto San Giovanni, is now working at phase 2 of the project. On one side there are the construction and infrastructure works of the Unione area to support the cancer and neurology institute Besta, part of Città della Salute: roads, a train station, a creche and hotels. On the other hand, there is the implementation of the mega commercial district featuring sports areas and a leisure park, to be completed by 2021. A project that is worth a total investment of 3.6 billion.

In the meanwhile, the corporate structure of MilanoSesto is consolidating, seeing Bizzi as a shareholder for 75% and the remaining 25% held by Al Hokair, owned by the brothers Fawaz, Salman and Abdul Majeed. The brothers invested one year ago in Sesto San Giovanni to relaunch an area of 1.4 million Sq m. The Saudi investors have used the option to reach 50% of the capital, setting at the same level as Bizzi & partners, confirming their strong commitment, also financial, for a series of projects that will take place over a 10-15 years period.

But it is also possible that other players might be involved in the investments: companies operating in healthcare, hospitality, and in services in general, ideally at an international level. These companies, in fact, might be willing to have a presence in the biggest development and requalification area in Europe, 1.5 times the surface of Expo. MilanoSesto will create several companies to work on the single projects which will get the capitals from the new investors.

The first chapter of the works will be launched by MilanoSesto after the summer and it will include the train station of Sesto San Giovanni. The project is signed by the superstar Renzo Piano. Other projects are the subsidized construction for the workers of the two hospitals, two hotels and a public park for 450 thousand Sq m. Then, we must add the new roads for the neighbourhood. The total investment in the Unione area amounts to 350 million for the real estate development, plus other 120 for the necessary reclamation works.

Another construction site will open simultaneously called “Concordia”, named after the old Falck factory. Here, the Al Hokair brothers will play again the main role, after having bought from MilanoSesto 80 million Sq m through Falcon Malls and, after the agreement with Bizzi, one year ago, for investments in Milan (Cascina Merlata) and in Turin. The group operates in Saudi Arabia 16 centres under the name of Arabian Centers. In Sesto San Giovanni, the group will build a commercial hub (2 billion for the development of the project) included in a wider project concerning residences, cultural centres and restaurants.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Rome, a luxury student residence granted by public money

27 November, Il Fatto Quotidiano

The opening of a modern student house featuring co-working and co-living spaces is always good news. But when the price of a room reaches 800 euro per month, the news is good only for a few. Especially if the project is developed in an over-populated neighbourhood, where there’s a lack of public services and social housing is a mirage. This is what is going to happen in Rome, in San Lorenzo, a neighbourhood just beside the biggest university in Europe, with the arrival of the Dutch group The Student Hotel (Tsh). The group was born from the idea of the Scottish entrepreneur Charlie MacGregor and the model is getting very popular all over Europe. After the Netherlands, Spain and France, now it’s the turn of Italy, with two hotels in Florence and one in Bologna planned for 2018.

In Rome, it will raise on 23 thousand Sq m surface once the property of the Customs House of San Lorenzo. The Rome project, for a total investment of 90 million euro, sees the restructuring of the historical building and the demolition and reconstruction of another building. An eight-storey building, common areas for studying, a restaurant, a bar, a game room, and a roof-top swimming pool. A sort of hostel with all the mods and cons that will be able to host up to 900 people, between students, professionals and tourists.

Residenziale Immobiliare 2004 Spa is the owner of the former Customs House, the company was created for the sole purpose of “promoting” a good part of the significant public portfolio of Rome, nowadays participated by 75% by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Immobiliare (100% owned by Cdp) and by 25% by the group Fingen. But it will be Residenziale Immobiliare to take care of the reorganization and the approvals, as confirmed by Cdp. Only after these operations will be concluded, The Student Hotel will definitively buy the space and start constructing.

A convenient investment for the Dutch group. “If the expenses for Cassa Depositi e Prestiti are the reorganization and the permits, 90 million seems too little”, comments Palo Berdini, ex-City Councillor for urban planning for the City of Rome. He adds: “If this is the budget, I’d like to know what do they mean by reorganization”, comments the architect Antonello Sotgia, author of “Rome, at the conquest of West. From furnace to finance”. Cdp, the property funds and the asset management companies are tracing the features of the city with the consent of the institutions.

The State sold the former Customs House in 2002 to Fintecnica, 100% controlled since 2012 by Cdp, together with two other strategic assets, the former Zecca (the State Institute for printing and minting) and the former National Geological Institute, which will become the Pentagramma project. The objective was to earn something from the public assets. In 2007, Fintecnica Immobiliare, which will become Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Immobiliare, 100% controlled by Cassa, put on sale the properties. In this way, a company was instituted, half controlled by Cassa and half controlled by private investors, namely Residenziale Immobiliare 2004. The operation was valued 368 million euro. The interests of the company went to Fingen, Pirelli Re and Gruppo Maire, which will leave the company later.

An investigation of the then-Senator Francesco Storace makes questioning about the real value of the properties, considering that the Zecca building was valued only 540 million. In any case, the three companies paid to Fintecnica 184 million euro, and Fintecnica should have paid the same: an investment at zero cost, with basically always the same owner to follow step by step the regeneration process of the area. In the 2011 report, Residenziale Immobiliare 2004 accumulated debts for 315 million: “Through private and public funds, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has transformed a public asset into a private source of income”, declares Berdini. And in 2017 the promotion plan assumed the shape of a luxury hostel in a popular student area.

In the meantime, the student committees promise to fight: “The right to study is under attack and The Student House is another insult to students’ dignity”. “I had to rent a room for 370 euro despite being entitled to a place in a student house”, says Emiliano, at his first year of Psychology. The student, despite being qualified for the welfare services, cannot access to them because there aren’t enough spaces. According to the figures of Coordinamento Universitario Link, the students qualified for a place in a student residence have increased by 32% in Lazio, but on a total of 3,082 entitled students, those awarded with a place in a resentence are only 1,937. According to the numbers of Laziodisu, the beds in Rome are 2,040 (2,515 in the whole region). In Lazio, for the 2017-2018 academic year, the students qualifying for a student residence have increased by 24%. Moreover, rents have increased by 4%, for an average of 416 euro per month for a single room and 302 euro per a shared room. These prices double if we look at the Capital.

Federica, a qualified winner of a place, preferred rather renting a room – 275 euro for a shared room – because the residence assigned to her was too far from the centre. In the residence of Valleranello, in the south-eastern suburbs of Rome, on a total of 400 beds, only 35 are accessible. Half of the cooking plates are not functioning, and the common spaces are abandoned. Wi-fi doesn’t cover the whole area and the place is infested by bugs. It takes over one hour for the students residing in Ponte Nona, eastern suburbs, to reach the university in the city centre. A real challenge that students repeat every day, commuting in the streets of Rome.

Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Veneto: H-Campus, Cattolica and CDP launch the 100-millions real estate fund

30 November, Corriere del Veneto

The initiative to implement the buildings, managed by Banca Finint, has been launched.

H-Campus, it’s the fund that will fund the implementation of the Ca’Tron Project, concerning education, specifically in digital terms, from the kindergarten to the master, it will be already operational by September of next year. The announcement was given yesterday and technically it’s a  real estate alternative investment fund (FIA), closed-end, and amounting to 101 million €, planned by Finint Investments SGR and owned by Banca Fininit, guided by Enrico Marchi.

The partners are Cattolica Assicurazioni (56%), Cassa depositi e prestiti investimenti SGR (40%), and Ca’Tron Real EState (4%), the real estate company of Riccardo Donadon, founder and president of the venture accelerator H-Farm, from which the campus project started. The activities of the fund are organized in two directions, one of which was already completed yesterday. “We have immediately acquired the four properties belonging to H-Farm – explained Filippo Jelmoni, property investments director of the Conegliano-based SGR – for a value of 32 million €. At the same time, Cattolica (owner of most of the Ca’Tron farmland, a little bigger than 1000 hectares, acquired in 2012 by Fondazione Cassamarca) gave us, for an extra 10 million, about 50 hectares. The second step will be building the remaining buildings of the Campus on that land, for an investment of about 59 million”.

The remuneration of the operation is essentially based on the lease that H-Farm has already started paying for the use of the properties sold and that will pay during the next 30 years in order to use the properties that are going to be built. The funding made available by Finint will also serve, partially, to carry out projects to adapt the viability in order to access the Campus. In particular, it concerns a connection that will make possible reaching the Campus from the motorway “Triestina”, avoiding the poorly-maintained old-roads system surrounding the Ca’Tron countryside.

The construction, which will be carried out by the Treviso-based Carron General Construction as general contractor, consists basically in the implementation of eight new buildings on an area of 26 Sq m within a 310k- Sq m-park. Here, educational and business activities, as well as leisure facilities and residences accommodating 250 students will take place. “We’d like to remind that – added Jelmoni – that the whole operation has zero cubic balance since the new volumes will be equal to the ones demolished in Ca’Tron and in the rest of the municipality of Roncade, including a military base dismissed in the eighties.

The campus has had quite a complex history and it’s supported by a planning agreement with the region of Veneto and the municipalities of Roncade and Quarto D’Altino through an administrative order by the Governor of the region, Luca Zaia. The document substantially confirmed “the regional and public characteristics of the initiative concerning the themes of education and digital culture, economic and social development, urban regeneration and landscape”.

The assessments regarding the environmental impact of the operation have been particularly challenging. The educational area, that once operative will host about 3,000 people daily, is located close to the Sile riverbank, an area that is largely below the sea level. Therefore, several simulations on the possible effects of potential floods had to be run, considering that, in 1966 the Piave and other rivers in the area overflew, flooding a large portion of the estate and now is dry thanks to a dewatering pumps system.

Source: Corriere del Veneto

Translator: Cristina

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