The A Compartment of the PAI-Parchi Agroalimentari Italiani Fund set up and managed by Prelios SGR has signed a framework leasing agreement with Starhotels for the new Fico Eataly World hotel in Bologna.
The agreement sets out the commitments and structure of the operation until the date of completion of the hotel, and includes the lease agreement to be formally signed by Starhotels on the handover of the building, which is expected to take place in December 2019.
Conceived to enhance the offer of the FICO Eataly World Agri-food Park, the new hotel is a Superior 4 Star establishment, being built as part of the detailed structural and functional redevelopment of Bologna's former flower and plant market It has been designed by the Iosa Ghini Associati architectural studio with the focus on total eco-sustainability for both the building itself and the interiors.
The new property development project, which will be managed by Prelios Integra, will have a total surface area of approximately 11,000 sq.m and will house about 200 bedrooms, service areas, meeting and conference rooms, a breakfast area and cafeteria, a reception area, offices, three swimming pools, a fitness center and spa.
Andrea Cornetti, General Manager of Prelios SGR – a real estate asset manager in the Prelios Group – said: “This agreement is a decisive enhancement completing the FICO Eataly World Park offer. Once the FICO hotel has been completed and is under the management of Starhotels, a reference player in the hotel sector in Italy, for both the upscale and the upper upscale & luxury segments, it will boost the park’s ability to attract Italian and international tourists. This will benefit the agri-food park as a whole and the city of Bologna, which in the last few months have received extremely positive reviews from distinguished international publications including The New York Times and Forbes.”
Elisabetta Fabri, Chair and CEO of Starhotels S.p.A., said: “We are very satisfied with this agreement for excellence in hospitality and the valorization of an authentic Made in Italy eno-gastronomic culture that we intend to actively promote, primarily through the consolidation of our collaboration with Eataly. The new hotel will be built in accordance with the principles of eco-sustainability, which have always been a core value for our Group, expressed in our Starhotels E.c.ho. (Ecological contemporary hotel) concept. We believe the hotel will have a key role in the development of FICO Eataly World. We shall work together to create value, and will also leverage the presence in the Park of a congress center able to host up to one thousand people, which is a unique differentiating factor.”
The PAI-Parchi Agroalimentari Italiani Fund’s legal advisors on the transaction were Studio Legale Bonelli Erede; it was assisted by Jones Lang LaSalle S.p.A. as advisor for the selection of the manager and the commercial elements of the agreement.