The market for logistics properties is booming. Various record figures were achieved in 2021 alone, including an investment volume of 9.9 billion euros (BNP Paribas) and take-up of 8.3 million square meters (CBRE). The high demand is being driven by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which is promoting the expansion of regional stockpiling structures in many places, as well as growing e-commerce. This trend is set to continue in the future. According to an analysis by real estate service provider CBRE, the demand for space in the e-commerce segment alone will require more than four million square meters of additional logistics space in Germany by 2025.

Lack of space drives new ideas and concepts

The persistently high demand is being met with a nationwide shortage of space, which is making it increasingly difficult to set up business in cities, metropolitan areas and conurbations in particular. In many places, the vacancy rate is less than one percent; in some cities, it is even close to the zero percent mark. Project developers from the logistics and commercial sectors in particular are looking for solutions and approaches that will continue to meet demand in the future.

With the realization of "Mach2", the first two-storey commercial and logistics property in the Hamburg area, the Dreieich-based project developer Four Parx, which specializes in commercial space, is demonstrating how this can be achieved in collaboration with the investment and asset manager AEW and the construction company GSE Deutschland. Four Parx has built the lighthouse project directly at the Port of Hamburg and provides users with a total usable area of 123,000 square meters on two equally usable levels. With a floor load of five tons per square metre on the first floor and three tons per square metre on the upper floor, the space can be used flexibly.

Two truck ramps lead to the upper floor

The hall height on both levels is 10 meters from the lower edge of the trusses. Access to the upper level is via two heated ramps that can be accessed by trucks weighing up to 45 tons. As part of sustainable development, the aim is to achieve certification in accordance with the international sustainability standard "Breeam - Excellent", which takes into account the ecological quality of materials, water and energy.

Four Parx built "Mach2" without pre-letting and has now announced that the project is fully let before completion. Airbus, one of the world's leading companies in the aerospace sector and related services, will move into the entire lower floor with a floor space of 62,300 square meters from July 2022. At the new site, Airbus will be mapping part of the business of its wholly-owned subsidiary Satair and will store spare parts and offer specific services in future. Satair is part of Airbus Customer Services and a provider of aftersales products for the civil aviation and aerospace industry. In addition to the Airbus distribution center in Fuhlsbüttel, the site is intended to increase the flexibility and reliability of spare parts logistics and make a strategically decisive contribution to supporting global growth in the field of spare parts logistics in the long term. The associated expansion of warehouse and logistics capacities is intended to provide important impetus for the Group's global spare parts supply in terms of a sustainable and resource-saving infrastructure. "We are proud to be able to announce the letting of 'Mach2' in Hamburg after an intensive development and construction period with a multitude of challenges. With Airbus, we welcome a renowned tenant with strong ties to the Hamburg region," states Oliver Schmitt, Managing Partner of Four Parx Holding.

Several construction challenges

With this project, the developer broke new ground in many respects, as there were no comparable reference projects to date. Several challenges had to be overcome in order to realize the project. In addition to a complex approval process and the desire to integrate the outdoor areas into the surroundings in a way that was compatible with the environment, the structural engineering and ground work required a great deal of effort. With the realization of "Mach2", Four Parx revitalized the former Refresco site - in this respect, extensive deconstruction work was required, during which a total of 76,000 tons of material had to be removed from the site. Extensive explosive ordnance soil testing was also necessary. The special foundation required for "Mach2" consists of a total of around 35,000 columns - around 260 kilometers of columns were installed. Four Parx received the B24 Brownfield Award special prize for innovative concepts for "Mach2" in 2020.

The article appeared in materialfluss 6/22.