At the end of a complex financial transaction, Generali Europe Income Holding Fund (GEIH) and the real estate fund of Poste Vita SPA announce that they have acquired the famous Palazzo del Cortile della Seta with equal shares for an amount of around 350 million EUR.
It is not the first time that the two giants have joined forces to buy real estate: it had already happened previously on 3 occasions, two of which in Germany (Berlin and Frankfurt) and once in Rome. Today, due to the global financial situation, the situation is slightly different and the uncertainties for the future are greater, but this important sale means only one thing: valuable properties, despite the increase in costs and the scarcity of raw materials, are still very attractive for investors looking at the medium-long term.
Cortile della Seta had been owned by JP Morgan for six years, which had delegated operations to Savills Investment Management Sgr.
The Silk Courtyard
The building, dating back to the 19th century, is truly wonderful, as is its location in the center of Milan: it is in fact located in the Brera district, in via Moscova 33.
The dimensions of the building are considerable: in fact we are talking about almost 25,000 square meters of space, equally divided between 19,000 square meters of offices, 2,000 square meters of commercial space and 1,400 square meters of terraces arranged over several floors. The last renovation took place only in 2021, based on a project by the Asti Architetti studio.
The building steeped in history: it originally housed the Napoleonic Cavalry, then became the headquarters of the military bakery of the Austrian government. It takes its curious name as it was later transformed into the place where cocoons and silk yarns were loaded and unloaded, when the market for this fabric was flourishing in the city; the large internal courtyard was used for commercial negotiations.
With the turn towards the tertiary sector, the building housed the headquarters of Banca del Commercio Serico, which later became Banca Popolare Commercio e Industria, while today it is the headquarters of Loro Piana, which occupies three quarters of the building, while Kering has rented an entire floor for the offices of the Pomellato brand.
The ground floor is instead dedicated to shops, thanks also to the beautiful full-height windows overlooking both via Moscova and via Solferino. Among the brands present there are precisely Loro Piana, but also Flexform, Lodes and Calligaris.
To date, all the commercial spaces and offices in the Cortile della Seta are rented.
Leed and Well certifications
The Cortile della Seta is also a very virtuous building from the point of view of environmental sustainability: it has in fact received the prestigious Leed Gold certification, and is a NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building), and thanks to the presence of photovoltaic panels on the roof and a geothermal system for heating over 50% of the energy it consumes is produced from renewable sources.
It has also obtained the Well Core Platinum certification, which guarantees the health and well-being of the people who frequent and work there. Launched in 2014 after 6 years of research and development, the Well certification defines the parameters with which buildings manage to improve our lives, focusing on comfort. Today, Well is applied in nearly 60 countries around the world, with over 220 certified buildings. The certification body is Green Business Certification Inc, the same as the Leed certification.
Air, Water, Nutrition, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community: these are the 10 categories that Well analyzes in order to issue certification or not, assessing the comfort of the building and its surroundings.
