After the construction pause on the Elb Tower, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher ruled out financial state support for the major project of real estate juggler René Benko. The city “will not assume any financial burden.” The next low point for the Tyrolean “Wunderwuzzi”.
The contracts with Austrian developer Signa were “well negotiated,” the SPD politician told the news magazine “Der Spiegel.” If the project were to be cancelled, private investors would suffer major economic losses.
He assumes that they will “find a solution for resuming construction work” in their own interests. On Monday, the Urban Development and Housing Authority confirmed the construction pause.
Contractual penalties possible
Senator for Urban Development Karen Pein (SPD) referred to possible contractual penalties and explained that Hamburg expects the construction project to be completed in accordance with the time periods and qualitative characteristics agreed in the purchase contract.
Signa Real Estate is part of the Signa Holding of the Austrian billionaire Benko. The 65-storey Elbtower will be 245 meters high. This makes the building, designed by the office of star architect David Chipperfield, the third tallest high-rise building in Germany after the Commerzbank Tower and the Messeturm in Frankfurt. According to previous information from Signa Real Estate, the skyscraper is expected to cost 950 million euros.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
