Hemsö and ARE develop municipal school in Cologne

Hemsö and ARE have entered into a joint venture to develop a new municipal school in central Cologne. The school will have a lettable area of 23,000 square meters, accommodating 1,000 students aged 11 to 18. A 25-year lease agreement has been signed with the City of Cologne. The investment amounts to EUR 160 million.

Hemsö has entered a joint venture with Austrian Real Estate (ARE), a wholly owned subsidiary of the real estate company Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG), which is fully owned by the Austrian state. The school in Cologne is the companies’ first joint development project. Previously, Hemsö has developed a new secondary and high school in Zossen and is set to develop a new secondary school in Rangsdorf, both located outside Berlin.

– The need for new developments and renovation of schools and other educational and research facilities is enormous in Germany. Both ARE and Hemsö have deep expertise in the development and asset management of schools. By bringing the parties together in a joint venture, we create an experienced player in the school segment and a strong partner for municipalities in Germany. We are pleased to be entrusted with contributing to the development of Cologne's social infrastructure and look forward to doing so with ARE, says Jens Nagel, Head of Region Germany at Hemsö.

The new school is being developed from an existing building from 2008. It will undergo extensive renovation and a major extension. The property will also feature sports halls, rooftop schoolyards, and a parking garage. The project has a strong sustainability focus, including passive house construction, generous green and outdoor areas, and climate-friendly energy supply. A solar power system of 180 kWp will be installed on the school's roof. The building is in the Kalk district of Cologne, Germany's fourth-largest city.

Construction is scheduled to start in summer 2025, with completion expected by summer 2028.

About ARE
ARE is one of the largest property owners in Austria. The portfolio includes 597 properties with approximately 1.9 million square meters of rentable space. The book value of the holdings is about 4.6 billion euros. ARE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG), which specializes in educational properties with more than 600 educational properties in Austria.

For more information, please contact:
Jens Nagel, Head of Region Germany                                      +49 30 261 075 08                     
Åsa Thoft, Head of Communications                                         +46 (8)-501 170 57
 

Hemsö is Sweden’s leading owner of properties for public use. The business is based on sustainably owning, managing and developing properties for nursing home, education, health care and the judicial system. Hemsö has properties in Sweden, Germany and Finland. The hallmarks of Hemsö’s business are long-term leases and stable tenants. The Third Swedish National Pension Fund (AP3) is the majority owner. The total value of Hemsö’s property portfolio is SEK 84.1 billion. Hemsö’s credit rating from Standard & Poor’s has been A- since March 2015 while it has an AA- rating from Fitch Ratings since March 2024. More information can be found at: www.hemso.se.