Garbe acquires brownfield site in Salzgitter

26th August 2022

Logistics BusinessGarbe acquires brownfield site in Salzgitter

Garbe Industrial Real Estate GmbH has acquired an industrial wasteland in Salzgitter (Lower Saxony, Germany). Following a comprehensive redevelopment of the site, a high-quality and sustainable new building for the storage and handling of industrial goods is to be constructed on the 51,000 sq m site. The logistics property is scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2024. Garbe Industrial Real Estate is investing around €43m in the conversion project.

The Hamburg project developer took over the property from Alstom. The deal came about as a result of the good cooperation between the two companies. Garbe Industrial Real Estate had previously realised a 30,000 sq m logistics property for the rail vehicle manufacturer on its factory premises in Salzgitter in 2014. The area now acquired is in the immediate vicinity.

Before construction can begin, the site must be cleared of contamination – including foundations of former buildings, concrete slabs, shafts and possibly also explosive ordnance. The potentially contaminated soil will be carefully removed and professionally disposed of. Then a levelling layer is applied and its surface is completely sealed.

“In the process, we bring our many years of experience in dealing with so-called brownfields to bear,” emphasises Adrian Zellner, Member of the Executive Board at Garbe Industrial Real Estate. “With the revitalisation of this area, which has been lying fallow for years, we are enhancing the value of the soil enormously, raising previously unused property reserves without sealing valuable green spaces and thus creating significant settlement potential.”

The complex conversion process is completed by the construction of a modern logistics property with a total area of 32,000 sq m in three fire compartments. For protection, a foil is drawn under the floor slab so that substances that may be hazardous to water can also be stored. At least 28 dock levellers and three ground-level sectional doors are planned for loading and unloading trucks. There will be 140 parking spaces for cars and six for trucks in the outdoor area. Some of them will be pre-equipped with e-charging stations.

A photovoltaic system will be installed on the entire roof area to generate renewable energy. Several green spaces are planned on the property. In addition, the logistics property will not be supplied with fossil fuels. This is entirely in line with Garbe’s corporate strategy of realising project developments with the highest sustainability standards, taking into account all ESG criteria. Garbe Industrial Real Estate is therefore also striving for certification of the property to at least the Gold Standard of the German Sustainable Building Council.

The location is characterised by its central position south of the city triangle of Hanover, Wolfsburg and Brunswick. It is only a few kilometres to the A 39 motorway, which connects Salzgitter in a northerly direction with Wolfsburg and the A 2 Dortmund – Berlin motorway, and in a southerly direction with the A 7 Hamburg – Ulm motorway. There is also a connection to the public transport system. The nearest bus stop is 200m away.

Initial talks with potential users of the logistics centre are already underway. Garbe Industrial Real Estate expects the centre to be let during the construction period.