Garbe Logistic Ag at BIG5 Location Dialogue

News 19/03/2015

What expectations do political decision-makers have of the occupiers and developers of logistics properties? What will follow the wave of green trends in the real estate market? Will warehouse design become even more sustainable? The answers to these and other questions regarding the logistics properties of the future were discussed at a forum hosted by German transport and logistics trade journal DVZ.

As a premium partner Garbe Logistic AG took an active role in the series of discussions that toured through Germany, visiting Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt/Main, Düsseldorf and Berlin. It was known as the “BIG5-Standortdialog”, which translates as the “BIG5 Location Dialogue” The aim of the forum was to gather logistics property occupiers, real estate experts, academics and investors at location hotspots to discuss the future of the logistics real estate industry. The concept met with approval from Jan Dietrich Hempel, member of the executive board of Garbe Logistic AG: “The forum provided an excellent opportunity for industry experts to exchange ideas and opinions. We had some fascinating discussions, some of which got quite heated!”
Speaking at the Munich event as one of five panel members discussing the sustainability of logistics real estate, Jan Dietrich Hempel brought up the issue of eco-labelling. He mentioned that creating new developments whilst balancing environmental factors also meant trying to avoid building on agricultural land and natural areas. Garbe Logistic AG Logistikimmobilien was therefore increasingly focusing its development activities on the conversion of former industrial sites, as it has done in Dortmund and Salzgitter. Arguing in favour of placing more emphasis on the location of the development when awarding eco-labels, Jan Dietrich Hempel questioned whether the eco-labelling schemes of organisations such as the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) were setting the right priorities when they only rewarded developments on brownfields with three percentage points?”

The forum participants all agreed that being within easy reach of transport networks would continue to have priority. The demand for development sites for logistics related facilities in prime locations would also continue to grow. For this reason Alexander Nehm, author of an authoritative text titled “Logistics Real Estate – Market and Regions”, recommends that industrial parks and freight distribution hubs should be planned more strategically, taking a longer-term view. Adopting this approach would ensure that suitable tenants for logistics premises in these locations would always be found.