Bijdrage van Hines Netherlands

Transcript

My name is Lars Huber. I'm the CEO for Hines in Europe. And I welcome you to Grainhouse, the latest restoration and placemaking project for Hines here in the heart of Covent Garden. Very much like all of our buildings that are newly created this building operates on a net-zero basis. But what we also do is we bring the best-in-class services to this building. It really showcases what we do as an investor, as a developer, but also as an operator of real estate. As soon as we saw the building or buildings as it was back in late 2019, we immediately understood that we had the potential here to create a product which would be perfectly suited to the next generation of office usage, which we saw as a trend in tenant preferences. We knew with the Hines skill set we could create something really special here. The large occupiers are struggling to find the space and the quality of space that they're looking for in a building. So, we were able to create that ourselves, which is what we love to do at Hines, and it's where we can add value for the investments and we can take a building that was in need of dire restoration, recreate it into this spectacular office space. We took the five buildings, we retained the existing facades and then remodeled the inside structurally and fabric to remove some of the inefficiencies to create new office space, but at the same time maintaining the character of the original buildings. From the second floor downwards, everything is retained. So it's all original structure. And then the development itself drops a brand new core into the center of the building, which brings the building together in a cohesive manner and then provides effectively a brand-new space from third floor through to fifth. The asset manager���s role for Grainhouse was really to ensure that from a design perspective we were providing a best-in-class office building and then transition to it being an operational building. So, working with the property management team and ensuring that as we were thinking about occupiers moving into the building, that everything was set in terms of services. We're providing an integrated facilities management on the Hines space. So, we've really mapped out customer journeys to ensure again that it's a completely customer-centric experience when people come through the doors and also to encourage people to come to the office a lot more. So, we're working with the occupiers in the building on a regular basis here to talk about what sorts of events they want to see and ensure that they know everything that's available within the building. Fully smart building, integrated, so, we've got an app here that does the access control, but also allows you to book events, book your visitors, to again ensure that really sort of seamless experience from the front door. Having toured the asset with the senior management team here in London, it's fair to say everyone fell in love with what the Grainhouse could become and we thought what better opportunity than to create our own headquarters and really to showcase the various facets of the Hines skill set through development, design, asset management and property management. We, as Hines, set ourselves apart from other investors and landlords, because we are known for delivering the highest quality buildings filled with the most exceptional levels of service. For me, one of the striking experiences here at Grainhouse is to see people's reactions that come here and visit for the first time, but also to hear our own employees talk about the experience working here. It really fills them with joy, there's a smile on their faces, there's a bit of ���oh���-ing, and ���wow���-ing and big eyes about the impact it has on the community, the impression that it leaves with talent that we're trying to recruit as much as the reference that it provides for competitors and the wider industry, in terms of what a future office could and maybe should look like. So, for us, the human reaction to Grainhouse is the biggest compliment we can get for what we've created.