Foncière Euris
Press release - 29 October 2004
Shopping and leisure centre in the heart of Berlin
First cut of the spade for ALEXA
This afternoon, construction of the ALEXA shopping and leisure centre located between Alexanderstrasse, Grunerstrasse, and Dircksenstrasse began with the official groundbreaking ceremony.
Sonae Imobiliária and Foncière Euris, the centre's two investors and developers, were represented by Fernando Oliveira, member of the executive board of Sonae Imobiliária, and Pierre Féraud, chairman of the executive board of Foncière Euris. They were joined by Thies-Martin Brandt, chairman of the executive board of DEGEWO, in celebrating the first symbolic cut of the spade in the company of Berlin's governing Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, the borough Mayor of Berlin Mitte, Joachim Zeller, and many other guests.
Klaus Wowereit about the start of the project: "The construction of the new shopping and leisure mall is a positive sign for Berlin's centre. Alex will be enhanced by this major investment, and I am pleased by each new job that is created as a consequence."
"Degewo has improved the urban development in Berlin with various projects. As we could win Sonae Imobiliária as investor and developer for Berlin, we have made one of the biggest marketing successes of the last years within the local retail estate market." stated DEGEWO board member Thies-Martin Brandt.
A further highlight of the ceremony was the proclamation of the centre's name, which has long been eagerly awaited by the public. Fernando Oliveira on the choice of name: "By naming the centre ALEXA, we want to honour Alexanderplatz. The square is famed throughout the world - because of its history and not least owing to Alfred Döblin's novel of the same name." The architecture and the design of the centre willl also be characterised by a special reference to Alexanderplatz, according to Oliveira: "ALEXA brings the world of art deco shapes and colours back to life."
Pierre Féraud: "We invest in major projects that contribute to vitalising cityscapes. We are very pleased to be able to be able to work in Berlin too thanks to our partnership with Sonae Imobiliária."
After the ground-breaking ceremony, Sonae Imobiliária, Foncière Euris and DEGEWO are going to host a party for the site's neighbouring residents and interested citizens. "We invite all neighbours and people interested in the project to celebrate its launch with us. At this opportunity, we also look forward to personally answering all their questions regarding ALEXA and the construction site," said Oliveira in the name of the hosts.
The ideal location for shopping, entertainment, working and living in Berlin
The large-scale project consists of three units that are separated in terms of property rights. Its core is a shopping and leisure centre for approx. 200 tenants with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 54,000 m² and Ravelin Square, approx. 2,500 m² in size. The Centre offers on up to five levels whit 43,000 m² for retail, 2,000 m² for restaurants and services and 9,000 m² for entertainment. An underground multi-level carpark offers approx. 1,800 spaces. Sonae Imobiliária develops the project together with its joint venture partner Foncière Euris. Sonae Imobiliária will later take over the property management of the completed shopping and entertainment centre. There are also plans to develop a 150-m-tall office tower with a gross floor area of 42,000 m², for which a project developer is still being sought.
To the south of the 3.2-hectare site, DEGEWO / GEWOBE Erschließungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH develops a residential, hotel and office complex with a 65-m-tall tower having a gross floor area of 39,000 m².
The investment volume totals EUR 500 million, of which the shopping and leisure centre, with its opening scheduled for autumn 2006, accounts for approx. EUR 290 million.
Sonae Imobiliária - http://www.sonaeimobiliaria.com/, Sonae Imobiliária is a European company established in Portugal in 1989. Strategic shareholders are Sonae SGPS (Portugal) holding 67.04% and Grosvenor (United Kingdom) holding 32.96% of the shares. Sonae Imobiliária invests, develops, and manages shopping and leisure projects in Europe and Brazil. It owns or co-owns 30 shopping centres and a retail park with a gross leasable area of more than 1.3 million m² in its portfolio. Thanks to the quality and innovation that characterise its developments, Sonae Imobiliária has collected more awards than any other international company in the area of shopping centres. The company manages a gross floor area of more than 1.6 million m² with more than 5,800 tenants in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Brazil.
In 2003, Sonae Imobiliária shopping centres in Portugal, Spain and Brazil had more than 382 million visitors. At present, Sonae Imobiliária develops 13 large-scale projects in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Brazil with a gross leasable area of 443,000 m².
Foncière Euris
Foncière Euris is a listed French company specializing in the development of shopping and leisure centres in Europe. The company forms alliances with leading developers and invests in large-scale projects that enhance the liveliness of the townscape. Among current projects of Foncière Euris S.A. are the ‘Carré de Soie' development near Lyon and the Beaugrenelle shopping centre in Paris as well as the Manufaktura program in Lodz, the second largest city in Poland. Foncière Euris is a company of the Euris Group, which is controlled by Jean-Charles Naouri. Foncière Euris also includes the Casino Group, the second largest listed retail chain in France.
Contacts
Sonae Imobiliária - Silvia Peschke Foncière Euris - Estelle Guillot
Tel.:+49 - (0)211 - 436 16 201 +49 - (0)211 - 436 16 201
Fax +49 - (0)211 - 436 16 202
E-Mail s.peschke@sonaewest.de egt@image7.fr
Visual material on the project is available under www.activconsult.com/presse, Berlin file.