Starting from 01 June 2013, MEC METRO-ECE Centermanagement GmbH & Co. KG will take over the center management, as well as the property and leasing management of the "Emaillierwerk" in Fulda. OFB Projektentwicklung GmbH commissioned the management of the shopping center, which has a size of about 26,300 m², to MEC.
The "Emaillierwerk“ was opened in 2011 and is located in the southern part of Fulda's city center, near the pedestrian zone. The "Emaillierwerk“ represents a successful transformation from an enamelling plant from the industrial sector to a hybrid shopping center, thus combining all the supplier functions of a retail park and classic elements of a shopping center, such as greater fashion competence and an appealing architecture. By means of a modern interior architecture, the listed historical building is designed in a customer-friendly and attractive way. One can find 40 shops, e. g. the tenants Aldi, tegut, Deichmann, dm-Drogeriemarkt, Woolworth, K&L and Media Markt on a rental space of almost 19,000 m². There are 550 free of charge parking spaces available for visitors.
"We are delighted that we won over OFB Projektentwicklung, a further third-party business investor, by our services", says Christian Schröder, COO at MEC. MEC METRO-ECE Centermanagement GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 2011 as a joint venture of the METRO GROUP and ECE. The successive expansion of the third-party business is one of the strategic objectives of MEC.
Dr. Alois Rhiel, CEO at OFB Projektentwicklung GmbH says: "The service capability and the high degree of expertise of MEC and their partners convinced us to assign the center management to them. We expect that with this change we can draw on the potential of the Emaillierwerk even more. “In addition the new management is expected to further promote the positive development of the center. Numerous activities and extensive, customer-oriented settings of the course are to be implemented as soon as 2013“, he says. OFB is a subsidiary of Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and engages in the project development and construction management of trade and retail properties throughout Germany.
„The Emaillierwerk represents an excellent supplement to our portfolio. The city of Fulda is among the top 5 German cities. Its centrality index of more than 200 and its stable catchment area makes it stand out“, says Jörg Wege, Head of Strategic Development, Merger & Acquisition at MEC.