(LONDON) – Hines, the international real estate firm, in a joint-venture with a group of German pension funds, has completed the purchase of a trophy building on Via Orefici adjacent to Piazza Cordusio, Milan’s prime office and high-street retail destination for €100 million.
The 12,000 square-metre building is located in the very heart of the historical centre of Milan, about 500 metres from Piazza Duomo. The building was formerly the historical global headquarters of eyewear retailer Luxottica and will be converted into a mixed-use property with retail components on the lower floors and prime office space on the higher floors.
The flagship building is fully vacant and will undergo an extensive renovation, benefiting from the new upcoming location of Piazza Cordusio which is attracting the interest of major international retail and office tenants. Once refurbished, the building is expected to be held as a long-term investment.
This transaction is the eighth investment by Hines in Italy over the past 15 months, following the investments in historical buildings on Milan’s Via Dante, Piazza Cordusio, Via Broletto, Via Torino, Piazza Edison and Via Tornabuoni in Florence.
Mario Abbadessa, Italy country head for Hines, said: “The historical center of Milan and particularly the area surrounding Piazza Cordusio represents a prime location that has proved to be resilient to volatile market corrections. The asset itself is of particularly high quality, making this an attractive investment.”
“The resurgence in demand of the historical center of Milan for both high-street retail and office tenants makes the restoration of these historical buildings and their long-term hold an attractive investment proposition for our investor clients. Via Orefici is a great example of this strategy,” said Peter Epping, fund manager at Hines for the separate account investing in this asset.
Lars Huber, CEO of Hines Europe, added: “Italy remains an attractive market with significant potential and we are delighted to add this latest trophy asset to our portfolio. Once redeveloped the asset will offer strong income potential through its office and retail elements and represents a strategic long-term hold for the company.”
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 192 cities in 20 countries. Hines has $93.2 billion of assets under management, including $47.9 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $45.3 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 105 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,180 properties, totaling over 379 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 483 properties, representing over 199 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
