Tishman Speyer today announced the completion of the city of Paris' largest office lease transaction.
The French Ministry of the Interior has decided to lease Lumière, Paris' largest privately held office building, for 38,000 square meters (about 400,000 square feet). The Ministry is expected to move in by the end of 2012. Property
Tishman Speyer's European Strategic Office Fund (ESOF), which manages office assets in a number of major European cities, owns the property. Tishman Speyer's entire 10-building Paris portfolio, totaling about 350.000 square meters (3.75 million square feet), now has a virtually 100 percent occupancy rate.
Lumière is located at 40 Avenue des Terroirs de France in the 12th District, near Bercy's 14-hectare park. The neighborhood, which is part of Paris's Eastern business zone, is a well-established office market with great road and subway connectivity, allowing for a 10-minute commute to the city center. The building, which was built in 1992, has seven levels above the two-story lobby level, which are divided into two wings by an amazing atrium. At either end of each wing, there is an individually configured building. Natixis, SNCF, ING Direct, and Société Générale are among the current tenants. A private auditorium and a nursery will be included in the Ministry's area.
Tishman Speyer Co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer said, "Over the past 14 years, we have been able to create and buy many of the top office assets in the best locations in key European cities." "We are able to attract the greatest quality tenants by establishing such a portfolio and managing it well, as proven by this transaction."
Head of the firm's European operations, Senior Managing Director Michael Spies, added,
"Lumière has proven to be an excellent investment for our European Strategic Office Fund, and our local team has done an outstanding job of maximizing the value of this asset. We expect the property to continue to benefit from high tenant demand due to its local renown and excellent position in the Paris office market."
"We are very pleased that Lumiere is now fully leased with high-credit quality tenants, especially given the present problems in the marketplace," said Bernard Penaud, Senior Managing Director and head of Tishman Speyer's operations in France. "The Ministry is a fantastic addition, and we are looking forward to supporting its administrative needs in the future."