Steigenberger Hotels AG and the property developer Groß & Partner have signed an agreement to create one of Germany’s largest convention hotels within the direct vicinity of Frankfurt Airport.
Once complete, the Steigenberger Kongress Hotel Frankfurt Airport will provide 527 rooms and suites across 18 storeys and a Conference Centre extending over an area of 5,500 square metres. It will also be located at an international transport hub which lies at the very heart of Europe. The official ground-breaking ceremony will take place in 2021, and the hotel is scheduled to open in 2024. Gateway Gardens already has its own stop on the Frankfurt suburban railway network, and the Steigenberger Kongress Hotel will be situated right in front of this station. Trains will whisk passengers to the airport’s own regional station in only two minutes, whilst Frankfurt Central Station is also only nine minutes away. These excellent links combined with the new facilities on offer will create a wealth of new opportunities for event organisers.
The hotel complex will rise about 70 metres into the sky and will boast a gross floor space of approximately 34,000 square metres. The project will be implemented by Groß & Partner using designs drawn up by the Düsseldorf-based company HPP-Architekten. The convention area itself will house a free-spanning conference hall with 2,300 square metres of usable space that can be divided up in a flexible way and is capable of accommodating about 3,000 persons. Clear room height will be 6.5 metres. A large lobby on the ground floor will add yet another perfect venue for the staging of events. A health and beauty spa on the 18th floor of the North Tower will offer unrestricted vistas of Frankfurt’s City Forest and skyline. Fabulous views out over the airport apron will be available from the Skybar in the South Tower, which will also be open to the public.
Thomas Willms, CEO, Deutsche Hospitality, expressed his delight at the contract conclusion with Groß & Partner. “Location is not the only unique feature here. The Steigenberger Kongress Hotel Frankfurt Airport will be the largest project ever undertaken during the 90-year history of the Steigenberger brand. It also constitutes a milestone in our MICE expertise.” Mr Willms explained further: “Synergy effects will be generated with our Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt, which has 564 rooms and suites, and with the 360-room IntercityHotel Frankfurt Airport. This means that we will be able to deliver highly attractive options for event organisers in future, even if participant numbers are very large.
Nikolaus Bieber, Managing Director of Groß & Partner, pointed to the huge degree of commitment shown by all parties involved in realising this construction project. He believes that it will lead to a prime opportunity for the city of Frankfurt. “We are extremely pleased to be working in conjunction with Deutsche Hospitality to develop a truly spectacular conference hotel at Frankfurt Airport. This will be a highly impressive and iconic structure. The views of the airport and of the Frankfurt skyline from the 18th floor of the complex will linger long in the memories of all travellers and visitors.”
The signing of the agreement represents a further landmark in the development of the Gateway Gardens quarter, which is around 35 hectares in size. Leading companies such as DB Cargo and the Kion Group have already established branches here, and Siemens is set to follow suit shortly. The conclusion of the lease agreement was facilitated on the part of Steigenberger Hotels AG by advice from the legal firms Kucera Rechtsanwälte, represented by Matthias Frank and Birgit Böhn. Groß & Partner was advised by the hospitality team of the legal firm Hogan Lovells led by the Munich partner Sabrina Handke.
