The most famous construction project by real estate entrepreneur René Benko is bankrupt: the owner of the Elbtower property in Hamburg has filed for bankruptcy. It is unclear what will happen next at the construction site.
The owner of the Elbtower property in Hamburg has filed for bankruptcy. The Hanseatic city’s authority for urban development and housing announced this today. The city was informed of the insolvency application by Elbtower Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG.
The interrupted skyscraper construction in Hamburg’s Hafencity is probably the best-known project by the Austrian real estate entrepreneur René Benko. Its Signa Holding had previously gone bankrupt, and several subsidiaries have already filed for bankruptcy.
Construction has been on hold since October
It is currently unclear what will happen next with the construction site in Hamburg. The city can “now assert its repurchase rights secured by the purchase agreement as well as the takeover of all planning and construction contracts,” said city development senator Karen Pein. Hamburg will “secure your rights in the insolvency proceedings and will contact the provisional insolvency administrator immediately after the appointment.”
The Lupp construction company had already stopped construction work on the Elbtower last October because Signa was in arrears with payments. Since then there has been a standstill on the construction site. The city of Hamburg had emphasized several times that no tax money would flow into the project.
Buyback by the city?
Today, too, Senator Pein pointed out that the high-rise plans were a “private sector project”. It is expected “that a private sector solution will be found for the prompt resumption of construction work as part of the insolvency proceedings.” If this does not happen, the city could take control of the project via its right of repurchase.
Recently, doubts had grown as to whether the Elbtower construction could even be worthwhile. According to the original plans, the building would be 245 meters high – making it the third tallest skyscraper in Germany. The total costs were initially calculated at around 950 million euros.