Important milestone for GERLING GARDEN: PROXIMUS and Quantum celebrate topping-out ceremony in the heart of Cologne

Cologne, 14/09/2023 | Project partners PROXIMUS and Quantum celebrated an important milestone with the topping-out ceremony for the GERLING GARDEN project in a central location in Cologne city centre. Together with over 250 invited craftsmen, project partners and guests of honour from the worlds of business and politics, the topping-out ceremony for the mixed-use, sustainable and resource-efficient GERLING GARDEN city centre quarter took place recently.

With a gross floor area of around 45,000 square metres for offices, hotels, retail and restaurants, GERLING GARDEN will play a significant role in Cologne's cityscape. PROXIMUS and Quantum are transforming the former Gerling Group site into a lively mix of historic buildings and state-of-the-art working environments. Spacious green areas in the inner courtyard, green roofs and roof terraces create a high quality of life on the site. Completion of the office complex is scheduled for 2025.

On behalf of both project partners, Michael Kunz, CEO of PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG, opened the event, after which numerous guest speakers and well-wishers took the floor. Mayor Andreas Wolter expressed his congratulations on the milestone achieved for GERLING GARDEN. Martin Reuter addressed the audience on behalf of the architectural firm ingenhoven associates. The traditional topping-out speech was given by foreman Pascal Servos, FUNDIA Bauunternehmung.

Michael Kunz, CEO of PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG, says: "We are currently in turbulent times. Unfortunately, it is no longer a given that projects of this magnitude are completed. Therefore, this is a signal to the market that we are on the home stretch towards the completion of GERLING GARDEN. We are delighted to be able to celebrate this milestone today."

Volker Budelmann, Project Manager at Quantum, adds: "The listed building structure and the pitfalls of inner-city logistics presented us with a few challenges. We would like to thank everyone involved in the project for overcoming them together."

The new district has already secured important tenants: The Kirchliche Zusatzversorgungskasse (Church Supplementary Pension Fund) has signed a long-term lease for approximately 9,200 square meters of space in GERLING GARDEN and will move into its new office space in 2025. The 25hours Hotel THE CIRCLE, with 207 rooms, has been successfully operating on the site since 2018. The plans for GERLING GARDEN were created by the Düsseldorf-based architectural firm ingenhoven associates.

Deutsche Hypo NORD/LB Real Estate Finance, a long-standing financing partner, contributed significantly to the realization of the project with its financing.

More about GERLING GARDEN: www.gerling-garden.de

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About PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG, headquartered in Cologne, is an owner-managed group of companies with the business areas of investment, development, and asset management. Proximus expressly offers its investment and asset management services to third parties. PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG primarily invests in inner-city districts and existing properties with optimization potential in German cities, with the aim of repositioning them and returning them to the market. The primary goal of PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG is to create economically and ecologically sustainable real estate products. Furthermore, the company invests in strategic corporate investments that support and complement its own business areas.