Milan, May 22, 2018 – Prelios SGR has launched a newly established alternative real estate investment fund, named Fondo Infrastrutture Scolastiche, to invest in buildings intended for schools and related activities.
The Fondo Infrastrutture Scolastiche has been set up as the result of collaboration between Prelios SGR, Invimit SGR and the Municipalities of Castel San Pietro Terme (Bologna), the project leader, Grumolo delle Abbadesse (Vercelli), Isola di Capo Rizzuto (Crotone), Monteprandone (Ascoli Piceno), Osimo (Ancona) and Robbiate (Lecco).
The twenty-year fund is an innovative initiative in the Italian financial and real estate, whose objective is to help local authorities construct new buildings to house school infrastructures. It was created with the decisive support of the Ministry for Education, Universities & Research, which, through a specific procedure, set aside funds for the redevelopment of the school buildings of the local authorities involved in the project.
A vital role in the success of the initiative was played by the Agenzia del Demanio – Italy’s State Property Office – which coordinated activities for the roll-out of the project, which will maximize the value of public assets and contribute to the economic, production, social and cultural growth of the areas where the buildings are located.
Under the fund investment plan, the municipalities will contribute the old school buildings and other structures or building land, for a total of more than 62,000 square meters. Prelios SGR will subsequently promote the construction of the new locations to which the schools will be transferred. The old school buildings and other areas contributed to the project will then be fully redeveloped to be put on the property market, to house new residential units, offices and business services for the local communities.
The fund – open for participation by other local authorities and investors – is being launched through collaboration between the Municipalities and Prelios SGR, which promoted the initiative, with a fundamental role played by Invimit SGR (an investee of the Ministry of the Economy & Finance), which, once the final investigation has been completed, will provide the funds required for the redevelopment of the old buildings and the construction of the new schools through the i3-Core Fund.
“With this new fund, Prelios SGR is putting its expertise at the service of education and teaching, a sector of strategic importance for the country's growth,” said Prelios SGR General Manager Andrea Cornetti. “This is an initiative of great social importance, particularly in a country like Italy, whose school buildings often need extensive maintenance, are technologically inadequate and perform badly in terms of energy. Prelios SGR is delighted to be able to contribute to the provision of new modern and efficient infrastructures for local communities.”
“With the creation of the new fund for the construction of latest-generation school buildings. There are three watchwords: safety, modernity and efficiency,” said the director of the State Property Office Roberto Reggi. “This important achievement is the result of specific technical work and institutional dialog and, now, to our great satisfaction, we can move into the heart of the operation. This public-private partnership has identified the right solution to bring together the investments and resources needed to construct new schools without impacting on the public purse. At the same time, the project will recover old buildings to be put on the market and provide an important opportunity for local urban redevelopment.”
Great satisfaction was expressed by the mayor of Castel San Pietro Terme, Fausto Tinti, and the municipal councilor for the budget, Anna Rita Muzzarelli, who followed the development of each stage in the project from its inception: “We are proud to be the project leader on this innovative operation for local authorities,” said councilor Anna Rita Muzzarelli. “This is the result of positive synergy and cooperation between the public and private sectors, which has created a model that other Italian municipalities can now use.” “A model operation that will provide benefits and enhance the value of our communities,” added mayor Fausto Tinti. “It will allow us to construct innovative new school buildings and simultaneously regenerate our local property assets.”