The new property will include a large community kitchen on the top floor, which will be available to all guests around the clock and free of charge, with a south-facing balcony offering a fantastic view of the city. Each apartment in the new SMARTments connect offers a comfortable living and sleeping area as well as a modern bathroom. A central component of the SMARTments connect philosophy is the promotion of a lively community. This is actively supported by public communal spaces, for example for co-working, socialising and a variety of events.

Bielefeld's Lord Mayor Pit Clausen expressed his delight at the start of building construction during the foundation stone ceremony: "The serviced apartments are an enrichment for the entire area around the main railway station. The gap between the buildings on Bahnhofstrasse is now being closed with an interesting and innovative property concept. A restaurant on the ground floor for everyone, with the serviced apartments above: that sounds exciting." There has been close collaboration on the project in recent years, particularly between GBI and the City of Bielefeld's design advisory board. "Façade designs, good proportions and a scale appropriate to the surroundings are the decisive factor, especially in prestigious urban locations," emphasises the chairman of the advisory board, architect and urban planner Prof. Rolf Westerheide: "Cooperating effectively and in a spirit of trust and achieving good urban integration has a positive effect far beyond the one building. The attractiveness of the entire city centre depends on this, especially at urban arrival points such as the main railway station."   

As with all GBI developments currently being planned and realised, the focus of the new SMARTments connect in Bielefeld is on sustainability. The high energy efficiency standard 40 is a special feature for a serviced apartment project in Germany. It also has DGNB Gold pre-certification. The energy-efficient design is combined with a photovoltaic system to utilise the building's own electricity. The curtain wall cladding consists of 40 per cent recycled building material. Concrete is used in reduced quantities. "The GBI Group has made a conscious decision in favour of sustainable construction and is implementing projects like this one," explains Alexandra Quint, Head of Sustainability & ESG at the GBI Group.

SMARTments connect Bielefeld is the second SMARTments connect in Germany. The first building was opened a few weeks ago in Frankfurt's City East neighbourhood. The SMARTments family has been pioneering microliving and serviced apartments for over a decade. Now SMARTments connect is picking up on the trend towards community building. The property in Bielefeld brings the total portfolio to almost 2,400 units. "The high demand for our products is a clear signal of the relevance of our offering, and we are consistently focusing on growth," emphasises Daniel Zawe, Managing Director of SMARTments. The aim is to more than double the number of units to around 5,000 apartments over the next few years in order to offer even more people a home away from home.

About the GBI Group:
GBI is one of the leading German property developers that focuses on subsidised and freely financed apartments, serviced apartments, hotels, student accommodation, micro apartments and concepts for senior living. Founded in 2001, GBI has realised real estate projects in Germany and Austria with a total investment volume of 1.6 billion euros in the past five years alone. Over 7,500 units have been handed over to investors. The company has secured a further 1.3 billion in sales volume (GDV) for its development pipeline. Future construction projects will be completed in accordance with the DGNB Gold Standard or EH40/QNG requirements. GBI Capital, which is part of the GBI Group, comprises the areas of investment management, fund and asset management as well as funding consulting. GBI Capital has over 450 million euros of assets under management in several fund mandates. The shareholder of GBI is the private real estate fund manager Henderson Park from Great Britain. http://www.gbi.ag

About SMARTments:
'SMARTments business' and 'SMARTments connect' are trademarks of the GBI group and offer travellers fully furnished and fully equipped apartments, 'SMARTments business' includes its own kitchenette and 'SMARTments connect' boasts integrated communal kitchens. Serviced apartments are mostly used by business travellers or young professionals staying for longer periods of time in a city, for example if they have project work or consultation meetings. Private travellers also use serviced apartments - for example for city breaks or for some privacy whilst property hunting in a foreign city. A total of 1171 serviced apartments are currently in operation, including eight "SMARTments business" branded properties in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin (3), Mannheim and Vienna (2). 'SMARTments connect' opened its first property in Frankfurt (128 apartments), with another property in Bielefeld under construction with 223 units. There are also 302 SMARTments business units under construction in Frankfurt am Main (142) and Hamburg (160). Combine these with the SMARTments student units, SMARTments is the operator at 15 locations with 2,390 units (including those in construction). The number of apartments is expected to grow to over 5,000 in the next few years. On top of this, there are also the residential products of SMARTments living and SMARTments senior living. The operation of the two serviced apartment brands is also separate to the real estate developments of the GBI Group. www.smartments-connect.de, www.smartments-business.de www.smartments-student.de

Press contact:
GBI Group:
Wolfgang Ludwig, Ludwig Medien & Kommunikation,
Tel.: +49 221 – 29219282, Fax: +49 221 – 29219283, Mobil: +49 171 – 93 35 134,
Email: mail@ludwig-km.de