Service Development – everything from a single source

What can customers expect when they commission Landmarken services in service development?

Investors and developers—whether private or public, such as municipalities—benefit from our extensive experience in the development of almost all asset classes, our network, and above all, our many in-house experts. Whether it's sustainability management, smart buildings, BIM, or financing, we have proven experts in-house for all these topics. You can't get more "one-stop" service than that.

What other reasons speak in favor of Landmarken?

There are many other advantages that set us apart from other providers on the market. We cover the entire spectrum of project development for ourselves, so we bring a wealth of experience and extensive know-how from our own developments to the table. Since we also manage a large real estate portfolio of our own, we always have the entire life cycle in view. When it comes to the important topic of sustainability, we focus on much more than just ecology: many developers boast about their "manage to green" approach and primarily mean the "E" in "ESG" when they talk about sustainability. For us, however, responsibility also means reflecting social and corporate responsibility: "Manage to ESG"!

In which areas does Landmarken offer service development?

We like to describe ourselves as a "jack of all trades" that can cover almost all asset classes and uses with different business models. That's why we're able to offer customized service development in four major areas. Firstly, in existing properties, where other portfolio holders, such as funds that need to modernize their space in line with ESG standards, can also benefit from Landmarken's expertise. The ESG-compliant transformation of real estate portfolios is one of the major tasks of our time. Here, we combine our core operating business with new strategic positioning: thanks to our many years of experience in portfolio refurbishment – from touch-ups to general renovations – we can offer very high added value for third parties from an owner's perspective. The high level of value creation we achieve thus also greatly benefits others in these exciting times for business.

And secondly?

Secondly, in a special form of portfolio development, namely the revitalization of spaces in an inner-city context: examples include retail properties that no longer fulfill their function as footfall generators and are sometimes acquired by local authorities in order to put them to a new use.

For example, vacant department stores.

Exactly. Former department stores are key properties for cities, and their revitalization requires a holistic, individual project strategy. We are one of the few companies that have the expertise and have already proven with Herne how it can work. We are currently in talks with owners who are facing the problem of vacancy and the challenge of finding new uses for their properties, as well as with local authorities who are considering how to bring people back into the buildings and the city. In the current situation, where many buildings in numerous municipalities are affected, we need to think about how we can scale certain ideas and building blocks and roll them out multiple times. Ultimately, however, every location is different and requires an individual solution. As part of an individual project strategy, it is important to assess the property's capacity for transformation. This includes the building stock, the environment, the feasibility of implementation, and the utilization concept. The latter should increase footfall and attractiveness, enable high third-party usability, and, in the best case, even allow for multiple uses.

You mentioned four major areas. What are the other two?

One important area is new construction. Here, we can tailor projects very precisely to the client's needs. With our Spirit Office product, the ecoPARKS projects, and numerous developments for private and public users, we can offer a broad portfolio, especially in the office and commercial sector. Finally, the fourth area is the exciting field of neighborhood development, where our landmark team is already in discussions with a property owner about creating a master plan for a neighborhood.

How did this come about?

We were specifically approached by the company that owns the site in a northern German city to ask whether we could develop a concept for neighborhood development. Thanks to our interdisciplinary approach – keyword: millipede – we can consider all possible uses in neighborhood development, as we have our own expertise in almost all areas of use. Added to this is our expertise in development planning procedures – especially in challenging developments where as many stakeholders as possible need to be involved in workshop and participation processes.

Let's return to the topic of new construction. What are the reasons for choosing Service Development by Landmarken?

Unlike project managers, who only get involved once the concept is in place, our interdisciplinary team is involved right from the development stage. The services we provide range from phase zero in development to support with financing and advice on leasing and sales. These are modular building blocks that can be used or not, as required. There are also fee models where remuneration is only paid in the event of success. And, unlike general contractors, whose construction prices are binding on clients when they commission service development, we always negotiate the best and most affordable overall package on the market. As a partner, we offer models that are tailored to the client's risk profile. We are also able to switch from service development to a total takeover model and bear the risks.

So there are many good reasons to choose Landmarken for service development. Are there already any concrete projects?

We are in intensive and advanced discussions with a large international company that would like to rely on our expertise in the development of its new headquarters in Germany. Here, we are starting at phase zero, because the site still needs to be consolidated and the entire development plan process has to be completed.

The tasks therefore include coordination with the local authority, dialogue with the neighbors,

... and much more. We are looking at the energy concept, ESG criteria, the transport concept, and third-party usability. Overall, we plan to remain involved in the project until the warranty period ends, i.e., for the next six to seven years. We are effectively taking the perspective of the owner, which we are very well placed to do because we are portfolio managers ourselves. In addition, we can offer further services through our sister companies – be it co-working services from Urban Village, property management from Stadtmarken, or parking space management from StadtParken. We can even go so far as to offer co-living services through POHA House, as we are talking about several thousand employees here, some of whom may also be looking for apartments due to relocation. We offer a one-stop service here, everything from a single source.

This is already on the scale of a neighborhood development that shapes a city or district.

Something like this has an impact on the surrounding area, so we are taking on social responsibility and contributing our experience with participation processes, which we have been doing for a long time in our own neighborhood developments. We have the appropriate tools for this.

To what extent are Landmarken's service development offerings—apart from the specific topic of department store revitalization—also of interest to the public sector?

As a partner to cities, we are generally happy to offer all these services to the public sector as well: from the development of schools and police headquarters to data centers, we are happy to be part of the solution. For example, just as we enter investor selection processes with our own properties in order to develop them ourselves and, for example, lease them to the municipality, we can also offer the same end product on the property of the public owner as a service developer.

Whether private investor or public sector, in the end there must be trust and the performance must be right.

That's right. Thanks to the versatility of the companies in our Landmarken family, we can offer the entire value chain in the life cycle of a property or neighborhood. And our customers get everything from a single source: as a full-service provider, we remain their sole point of contact from planning and design to obtaining building permits, implementation, and subsequent operation.