After years of delay, it looks like Berlin’s new airport, BER, is finally set to open on 31 October 2020.
Europe’s biggest airport currently under construction will have a huge impact on the German capital’s infrastructure and transport network, shifting the focus to the south, where the airport is based, instead of the north.
After a short shock due to Covid-19 following record high transaction levels and record low vacancy rates of 1.2 per cent earlier this year, Berlin’s office and investment markets are picking up pace again. International and domestic corporates and the public sector see huge potential in this thriving city – as shown by the recent largest lettings deal in German history, with a public entity taking almost 90,000 sq m at the Treptowers offices.
BER will provide the city with much better international connections. Assuming that air travel returns to pre-Covid-19 levels, forecasts are that 28 million passengers will pass through the new airport each year – moving the city ahead of Dusseldorf airport (25.5 million) and putting it on a par with Stansted airport in London as one of the busiest airports in Europe.
BER will have a huge impact on the office market in the south of Berlin. For example, Alfons & Alfreda, in a JV with aamundo Immobilien Gruppe, is developing approximately 54,000 sq m of new campus space close to the airport, consisting of mainly offices as well as hotels and retail, which are expected to complete by 2023.
Tegel airport in the northwest of Berlin will close as planned and the area will be revitalised as a science and industrial park and a smart city with green spaces and retail and leisure amenities. New tenants will, for example, include the Berliner Beuth University for Technology. The university is planning to move into what is currently the main terminal.
The city itself will spread out further. Tegel is approximately 10km from the city centre, while BER is almost 25km away. The sub-markets on the route to the new airport will inevitably become more attractive and they are expected to see huge appreciation potential.
Start-ups and corporates will need to decide in which part of the city they want to be based. Inevitably, the new airport will lift Berlin into a different league and have huge implications for the real estate market and its players.
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