Greystar acquires iconic new build development of 592 apartments in The Ensemble in Amsterdam Southeast

The Ensemble is a unique, sustainable mixed-use development by Great Grey Investments and Wonam comprising 592 apartments, offices, social and commercial facilities.

? Municipality of Amsterdam will own the health centre with a pharmacy and a talent centre for young people. ? Greystar acquired the 592 apartments of which 415 are in the ‘mid-rent segment’. ? Great Grey Investments remains owner of 20,000 sqm of office space, the commercial facilities and the parking garage; the development is led by Grey Investments and Wonam.

A sustainable home for everyone
The former office buildings at Karspeldreef 14-16 in Amsterdam are making way for a mixed-use building with two imposing towers, 115 and 95 metres high, respectively, including a mix of housing types such as studios, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments. This mix will make The Ensemble suitable for a wide range of audiences such as single households, young couples, and small families. The approximately 20,000 sqm of office space is spread over 5 floors with 3,600 sqm LFA. This is unique in the Amsterdam office market and meets today’s occupiers’ most relevant needs for flexibility, meeting, collaboration and sustainability. The parking garage will provide space for 2,350 bicycles, 120 scooters and 239 cars.

Its diverse range of social facilities is aimed at meetings, socialising and recreating. The Ensemble aims to become a home for the neighbourhood. This makes The Ensemble an impactful development for both the residents of Southeast and the new developing city district Amstel III. An educational film will be made of the construction of The Ensemble, which will be shown at schools in Southeast to enthuse young people about a job in construction.

The entire development, including the apartments, is almost energy-neutral using heat and cold sources, green roofs and solar panels. It will be one of the largest and most sustainable residential buildings in the Netherlands. The offices will receive the sustainability label BREEAM Excellent for creating sustainable buildings with minimal environmental impact. The building exceeds the highest Amsterdam BENG standards and goes a step further than what are currently the minimum requirements for sustainability.

Attractive and complete city district
The large office area Amstel III below the Johan Cruijff Arena is turning into a mixed city quarter for thousands of Amsterdam residents. By 2027, there will be ten thousand homes at Bullewijk and Holendrecht stations. The offices will thus make way for a complete urban district. Along with the construction of many homes, there will also be many neighbourhood facilities, such as schools, health centres, neighbourhood rooms, a youth talent centre, a pharmacy, childcare and sports facilities. And the area will become much greener: Hondsrugweg will be transformed into a huge city park where people can live, work, and relax (hondsrugpark.nl). The municipality is working intensively with various developers to give the area a quality boost in co-creation. Reinier van Dantzig, alderman for Housing and Spatial Planning for the city of Amsterdam: “We are making good progress developing Amstel III into a new residential area of Amsterdam. Ensemble is one of the projects of which we could be very proud, featuring affordable housing with low energy costs. Combining living, working and facilities, we are building on the vision for Amsterdam in which we not only build houses but develop a society.”

Organisation and advisors
The Ensemble was initiated and is being developed by Great Grey Investments and Wonam. The building was designed by Van Belle & Medina – CONIX RDBM Architects, with Cordeel responsible for all construction.

Great Grey Investments and Wonam were advised in this transaction by Loyens & Loeff (legal & tax), Capital Value (commercial), and Kempen (financing). Financing for the completed development phase has been provided by RAX, whilst Cheyne Capital Management, with Greenberg Taurig acting as advisor, provided financing for the construction of the commercial part. Greystar was advised by Houthoff (legal), Deloitte (tax and financial) and Savills (technical). The financing for Greystar’s acquisition was provided by ING and Rabobank. Marijn Snijders, managing director at Capital Value: “The Ensemble is a unique project in Amsterdam because 70% of the homes are in the mid-rental segment, a segment where the shortages are the highest. It is very good for the city of Amsterdam that Greystar, GGI and Wonam have been able to realise this project together.”