On August 31, 2021, IMMOFINANZ announced that it would build 12,000 new apartments over the medium term thus expanding its real estate offering, currently focused on office and retail solutions, to include “affordable and sustainable housing.”
The strategy involves adding the residential element to the company’s STOP SHOP retail chain, currently spanning 100 shops across Europe, a number which is planned to rise to 140 in the coming years. “Over the medium term, we plan to overbuild roughly 50% of our current and future STOP SHOP locations with affordable rental apartments. That would represent up to 600,000 square meters of residential space or nearly 12,000 smart and sustainable apartments.” commented IMMOFINANZ CFO Stefan Schoenauer.
According to the company, the priority is sustainability, through “the use of use of photovoltaics, heat recovery and geothermal energy as well as the unsealing of land through greening and the installation of common areas like playgrounds, meeting zones or rooftop gardens.” Modular wood construction will allow for combinations ranging from mini-lofts to family apartments, apartments with home office rooms or separate units for guests or caregivers. The first pilot project has started in Austria.