Noerr advises P3 on purchase of conversion site in Hanau to develop data centre

With a team led by our Frankfurt-based partner Alexander Jänecke and associated partner Tim Behrens, Noerr has provided legal advice to P3 Logistic Parks GmbH on its purchase of a former military barracks site in Hanau-Großauheim, which had been taken over by Germany’s Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben).

On the 250,000 square metre site, P3 will be developing one of Europe’s largest data centres under the aspects of sustainability.

The construction of the P3 data centre on the site of the former Großauheim barracks is the result of cooperative collaboration between P3 Logistic Parks, the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks and the city of Hanau and marks another important step in the conversion process in Hanau, in which former US properties are being put to civilian, future-oriented use. Due to its proximity to the DE-CIX internet hub in Frankfurt, Hanau is a particularly attractive location.

The construction of the campus will take place in several phases, with at least eight data centre modules with buildings covering an area of around 200,000 square metres being built over a period of ten years.

Climate protection and energy efficiency will be key in designing the P3 data centre. The campus will be built and operated sustainably and supplied with 100 per cent green electricity.

The project is a brownfield development. This means that P3 will decontaminate the barracks site, which has been vacant since 2008, deconstruct and recycle the current buildings and use their materials for ground works. A connected load of 180 megawatts is planned for the data centre campus. To achieve sustainable operation, P3 has agreed on sustainability goals with the city of Hanau and committed itself to implement them. For example, the P3 data centre will be completely supplied with electricity from renewable energy sources already when the first module is put into operation. In addition, special attention will be paid to energy efficiency and calculating and reducing CO₂ emissions.

A combined heat and power plant is also to be built on the campus by Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Hanau GmbH und Co. KG. This will ensure district heating for Hanau as from 2024. In addition, a transformer station will be built on the site by local grid operator Hanau Netz GmbH.

To protect local flora and fauna, P3 will carry out species protection measures, such as creating compensation areas and relocating animals in need of protection. P3 will also create further suitable habitats, such as swift towers and bat roosts, and will landscape the project area.

P3 is a long-term owner and developer of European logistics properties with around 6.4 million sqm of lettable space and a land bank of 1.6 million sqm for further development. P3 has been investing and developing in European markets for more than two decades and is now active in eleven countries. Headquartered in Prague, P3 employs more than 200 people in eleven offices in key European cities and assists clients from a wide range of industries in selecting suitable sites, procuring, obtaining permits for and constructing logistics properties, as well as in managing properties. P3 is wholly owned by GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation).

Advisors to P3 Logistic Parks GmbH: Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB

Team lead: Alexander Jänecke (partner), Tim Behrens (associated partner, Real Estate Investment, Frankfurt)

Regulatory & Governmental Affairs
Peter Bachmann (partner, Munich)

Tax
Martin Haisch (partner, Frankfurt)
Michaela Engel (partner, Munich)