Allianz Campus

he open-ended mutual property fund "Swiss Life REF (DE) European Real Estate Living + Working" has acquired the Vienna office property "Allianz Center" in a share deal. The seller is Raiffeisen Property Holding International GmbH (RPHI). The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The office property at Linzer Strasse 225 was completed in 2020 and is thus the most modern property in the submarket in Vienna's 14th district "Penzing". It comprises eight floors with a modern interior and five elevators. Also included are a canteen, a training area and 206 car parking spaces. In addition, the property has been awarded the DGNB Gold (ÖGNI Gold) sustainability certificate. The tenant is Allianz Elementar Versicherungs-AG.The property impresses with its flexible floor plans and ESG features, including a PV system. It has a good location and connection to Vienna's city center, which can be reached within 30 minutes. The quick connection to the A1 highway ("Westautobahn") makes the location very convenient for the large number of daily commuters to Vienna.

"Through the purchase of these modern and long-term leased office properties, we are expanding the presence of 'Living + Working' in Austria and thus strengthening the diversification of the fund portfolio. In this context, Vienna convinces with an attractive long-term economic development as well as with its low office space vacancy rate," says Dr. Christine Bernhofer, CEO of Swiss Life KVG and COO of Swiss Life Asset Managers in Germany.

Dr. Karl-Maria Pfeffer, Managing Director of RPHI says: "We are proud that we were able to attract Swiss Life Asset Managers, a very long-term oriented buyer for the property. This excellently located and sustainably constructed office property not only brings long-term cash flow from a company with a strong credit rating, but also meets the increasingly important sustainability criteria of institutional investors to their complete satisfaction."

The office complex with 22,800 m2 of gross floor area was completed in late August and handed over to the tenant on 1st September. The six-storey building with parking garage (206 spaces) will serve as the new headquarters of Allianz Technology, which is centralising its locations, currently distributed across Vienna, in Linzerstrasse (in the 14th District).    

RPHI (Raiffeisen Property Holding International) is proud to report that, despite COVID-19, construction was delayed by only two months. “We are especially proud to have been able to meet our goal of completing the building by the summer of 2020, even in these turbulent times. In this case, this was also made possible by the outstanding and flexible cooperation with the general contractor Strabag, the architects (among many others), and of course Allianz”, says Karl-Maria Pfeffer, Managing Director of RPHI.

Another noteworthy aspect of this project is its environmentally friendly construction, which was rewarded with a generous grant from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism. The ÖGNI (Austrian sustainable building council) has also already awarded the office complex a gold pre-certificate for sustainability.

The impressive shell construction at Linzerstrasse 225 was erected within the last twelve months. It has a gross floor area of 22,800m². To celebrate, representatives of project organiser and developer RPHI and general contractor STRABAG came together on 29 January for the topping out ceremony.

RPHI Managing Director Karl-Maria Pfeffer thanked the general contractor and planners for their excellent collaboration and made a point of highlighting the efficiency and productivity of the work crew.

Topping out ceremonies are held to honour the construction workers’ achievements and reward them for their hard work, and so the 87 workers were delighted to receive cash gifts from property developer RPHI. 83,300 working hours had already been invested in the project by the time the topping out ceremony was held.The six-storey building with parking garage (206 spaces) will serve as the headquarters of Allianz Technology, which will be centralising its locations, currently distributed across Vienna, in Linzerstrasse.The new headquarters is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020.

Construction work on the office complex in Linzerstrasse in Vienna’s 14th district began in January 2019. The six-storey building will serve as the headquarters of Allianz Technology, which is centralising its locations, previously distributed across Vienna, in Linzerstrasse.The property’s “green” flair is already apparent before you enter the building, on the ground floor. Numerous trees provide shade and a pleasant, inviting atmosphere. There is also a 250 m² photovoltaic system on the top floor.

On the second floor are the canteen and the conference and training areas, some of which open up seamlessly into the green, open-air terraces. The “new office concept” is being put into practice from the third floor onwards. This entails open-plan offices with separate pods for phone calls and meetings, and designated break-out areas. The view over the rooftops of Vienna from the terrace of the coffee shop on the top floor is certainly breathtaking.The parking garage with its 206 spaces is located on levels -1, 0 and 1.

Another noteworthy aspect of this project is its environmentally friendly construction, which was rewarded with a generous grant from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism. The ÖGNI (Austrian sustainable building council) has also already awarded the office complex a gold pre-certificate for sustainability.The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020.