Greenman OPEN and GFORM celebrate topping-out ceremony for new EDEKA supermarket with residential development in Middle Franconia

Greenman OPEN and its sister company GFORM, manager of OPEN’s portfolio of German food retail properties, have celebrated the topping-out ceremony for a local retail centre in a four-level building in Dinkelsbühl in the district of Ansbach in Middle Franconia together with OPEN’s general contractor Schoofs Immobilien GmbH Frankfurt. A full-range Edeka supermarket is being built on a 9,400 square metre site next to a bakery with a café, topped by three residential storeys with a total of 83 barrier-free residential units.

James McEvoy, CEO of GFORM and representative of Greenman OPEN, explains: ” I am delighted that the project is progressing so quickly. As the manager of Europe’s largest Real Estate Article 9 fund, we place great emphasis on sustainable properties and work closely with our sister companies Greenman Energy and White Bird to implement technical infrastructure such as e-charging facilities in our buildings and generate green electricity for our tenants. The high attendance at the topping-out ceremony shows how important this project is for the neighbourhood development in the south-west district. We are creating high-quality living and shopping opportunities for all generations here to meet the growing demand. Finally, we are extremely delighted to also continue to expand our long-term partnership with EDEKA, one of Germany’s leading grocers, who have committed to a 21-year lease contract at this location”.

The mixed-use property with a total rental area of 8,094 square metres is part of the 7.4-hectare development Gaisfeld IV and is located between Südring and Lorestraße. Following completion in the first quarter of 2025, the new building will be managed by GFORM and its sister company White Bird on behalf of the Greenman OPEN fund, one of the largest food-anchored retail real estate investment funds in Germany. The topping-out ceremony took place in the presence of the project participants, tenants and community representatives, including Mayor Dr Christoph Hammer.

Dr Christoph Hammer, Mayor of Dinkelsbühl, says: “In Dinkelsbühl, the clocks tick a little differently: the fact that an EDEKA supermarket is being built in the middle of a residential area, next to a kindergarten, hotel, socially subsidised housing, high-density development and detached houses, on which over 80 flats are being built on three floors, is something unique in rural areas. EDEKA is thus setting new urban development standards in Bavaria and beyond!”

Jürgen Dräger, Managing Director of Schoofs Immobilien GmbH Frankfurt, adds: “We are delighted to actively support Greenman OPEN, investor and owner of the property, with our experience as a reliable general contractor of numerous mixed-use projects. Following today’s completion of the structural work of the EDEKA supermarket, the next step will be the interior fit-out of the store and the extension of the property to include the residential floors.”

EDEKA has signed a 21-year lease with GFORM for a rental space of 2,275 square metres. The new building also includes residential units with a total rental area of around 5,700 square metres. There are planned 1.5 to 4-room flats with between 38 and 120 square metres of living space. An underground car park will provide 80 parking spaces for the residential tenants. The EDEKA supermarket will have 150 bicycle and 130 car parking spaces with up to two hypercharger charging stations. A DGNB Gold certification is planned for the new building. GFORM will manage the entire asset upon completion, together with its sister companies White Bird and Greenman Energy, whom will collectively take over the technical management of the property after completion, respectively the fitting of the roof areas with solar panels and the expansion of the e-charging infrastructure.