Monday, 5 October 2026
Empira Group has completed the acquisition of Bärenpark, a large residential estate in Berlin-Tempelhof, in a transaction valued at approximately EUR 100 million, with BayernLB providing EUR 62.5 million of acquisition financing.
The transaction connects two institutional investment strategies around the same Berlin asset. Deutsche Asset One, which previously managed the property for an institutional fund, acquired the estate in 2013 and carried out a substantial modernisation programme by 2015. After a holding period of around 12 years, the property has now been transferred to an Empira vehicle focused on improving the energy performance of existing German housing.
Built in 1931 and protected for its architectural heritage, Bärenpark, also known locally as Bärensiedlung, consists of 12 apartment buildings containing 875 homes. The estate provides approximately 48,000 sqm of lettable space and includes a large landscaped courtyard. Previous information from Deutsche Asset One also identifies five commercial units and 104 parking spaces at the property.
BayernLB has financed the acquisition with a EUR 62.5 million facility. When compared with the approximately EUR 100 million transaction value previously disclosed by Deutsche Asset One, the financing corresponds to about 62.5% of the purchase price. This is an implied ratio based on the two disclosed figures rather than a formally announced loan-to-value level.
The acquisition forms part of Empira’s Transition-to-Green investment strategy, which targets existing residential properties in Germany’s major metropolitan markets where energy performance can be improved through additional capital expenditure and active management.
At Bärenpark, one of the principal measures being considered is replacing the estate’s gas heating with district heating. Further improvements are expected to be determined following technical assessment and consultation with the authorities responsible for the protected buildings. The scope of the future works has therefore not yet been finalised.
The transaction illustrates a growing investment challenge within Germany’s established residential stock: improving energy performance without losing the value embedded in existing buildings, particularly where heritage protection limits the range of interventions available. For institutional owners, this can require additional capital expenditure beyond the initial acquisition while potentially reducing future energy consumption and exposure to increasingly demanding building-performance requirements.
For Deutsche Asset One, the sale represents the exit from a mature investment following more than a decade of ownership and earlier refurbishment. The company has simultaneously remained active in Berlin residential investment, acquiring two newly completed and fully occupied buildings in Altglienicke for approximately EUR 20 million on behalf of another institutional investor.
The Bärenpark transaction therefore represents more than a change of ownership. A large pre-war Berlin residential estate is moving from a long-term institutional holding into a new investment cycle centred on energy upgrades, backed by EUR 62.5 million of bank financing and a strategy to reposition existing housing for longer-term operation.
