Pbb finances Frankfurt tower redevelopment with €150m-plus loan

Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided more than €150 million of finance to fund the redevelopment of a vacant office tower complex in Frankfurt into high-end apartments and a luxury hotel.

The Munich-based bank has provided the loan to a property company managed by the investor/developer RFR Group and a partner. The facility will back the conversion of the ‘Hochhaus am Park’ property, located in Frankfurt’s West End.

The complex features two interconnected office towers located in the city’s Grüneburgpark recreational area. RFR bought the vacant towers – the ‘skyscraper on the park’ – in February.

The firm plans to convert the one of the two buildings into 100 apartments with an aggregate floorspace of 13,700 square metres. The second building will redeveloped as a 140-room five-star hotel with conference and spa facilities.

The apartments are expected to be completed by mid-2019, with marketing due to commence at the end of this year. The hotel is also scheduled to open its doors by mid-2019.

Pbb said that the transaction was closed during the first quarter of this year.

Gerhard Meitinger, head of real estate finance Germany at pbb, said: “The revitalisation of the ‘Hochhaus am Park’ complex is an interesting project, located in a desirable residential area. The northern part of Frankfurt’s West End offers good opportunities for a special hotel. We continue to see strong demand for high-quality residential space in Frankfurt, whilst the situation on the Frankfurt hotel market remains positive. Our partner RFR Group is an experienced real estate developer with extensive hotels expertise.”