TOM June 2020

Page 15 T O M
NEWS June 2020
Foundation stone
laid for Viktoria Karree
Many new projects in the city centre of Bochum
The foundation stone has
just been laid for the Viktoria
Karree business district
in Bochum. The 160 million
euro project of the Hamburg
HBB is being built on the site
of the former justice centre
on Viktoriastrasse in the city
centre.
There HBB is building an open
business quarter with three
multi-storey buildings and
38,000 square metres of rental
space plus an underground car
park with more than 500 parking
spaces. The project is part
of the city center offensive of
the city of Bochum.
Construction work
in full swing
The construction site is very
busy. Since February 2019,
the old buildings of the Justice
Centre have been professionally
cleaned of pollutants
and then demolished. Now the
This is how Bochum‘s Viktoria Karree should look when it is completed.
Visualization: HBB / RKW Architecture
company August Prien is taking
over the construction site from
the demolition company Moß.
August Prien works in a consortium
with the company Hans
Lamers, the facades will be built
by the company Medicke.
The total construction time will
be more than two years - the
completion of the complex overall
project with various structures
is scheduled for 2022. The
project already has a high occupancy
rate.
Among others, Rewe Dortmund,
easy Apotheke, Decathlon
Sport, the Hotel Holiday
Inn Express with the operator
Tristar, Regus Co-Working, the
city of Bochum and Bochum
Wirtschaftsentwicklung as car
park operator have already been
determined as tenants.
Drees & Sommer and BOAG merge
Companies strengthen presence in the Netherlands
Since 1 July, BOAG Advies en
Management B.V. has been a
wholly owned subsidiary of
Drees & Sommer SE. With
50 employees, BOAG will
be integrated into Drees &
Sommer Netherlands, which
has the same number of employees.
By merging with the established
consulting and project management
office BOAG, Drees
& Sommer strengthens its presence
in the Netherlands and
expands its range of services,
particularly in the education,
healthcare, retail and residential
construction sectors.
Since July 1, the new management
team of Drees & Sommer
Netherlands has consisted
of Michel de Haan, Chairman
of the Executive Board, Kurt
van Dijk, Ton Heijmans, André
Leeuwis and Johan de Vries.
„The merger with BOAG is an
Drees & Sommer and BOAG have joined forces - here the management
team. Photo: Drees & Sommer
important and consistent step,
as it will enable us to further
expand our market position in
the Netherlands and Europe,“
explains Michel de Haan, Partner
of Drees & Sommer SE and
Managing Director of Drees &
Sommer Netherlands. Ton Heijmans,
Managing Director of
Drees & Sommer Netherlands,
adds: „Together we are able to
offer our customers in the Netherlands
and internationally a
broader consulting and service
package. At the same time, we
are creating an attractive perspective
for our current and future
employees“.
BBE survey: clear
majority does not
consider a reduction
in value-added tax to
be sensible
The reduction in value-added
tax from 19 to 16 percent, which
comes into force on 1 July, is a
core element of the second Corona
Tax Assistance Act. The tax
relief is intended to give traders
and consumers urgently needed
liquidity for consumption.
While some are still arguing
about whether the measure will
serve its purpose and customers
will return to the shops in the second
half of the year, the other
side doubts that the financially
strapped trade will really pass
the savings on to consumers.
BBE Handelsberatung from
Munich has conducted a survey
of just under 300 stationary retailers.
According to the survey,
the sweeping accusation that
companies would rather put the
tax cut into their own pockets
only applies to a small proportion
of retailers. A total of 59 percent
of the companies surveyed
stated that they would pass on
the relief to their customers either
in full or in part. Only 19.5
percent of the companies would
prefer to keep the gift from the
tax authorities to themselves,
while around 21.5 percent are
still unsure about the question.
69.6 percent do not consider the
associated additional expenditure
due to the tax reduction to
be proportionate. Overall, 79.4
percent do not consider the reduction
in VAT to be sensible.
Galeria Karstadt
Kaufhof: 56 department
stores must
close
The crisis-ridden Galeria Karstadt
Kaufhof group has apparently
agreed on a restructuring
concept. According to the plan,
56 of the 172 stores are to be
closed. The collective bargaining
partners have agreed on the
reorganization concept of the
department store group Galeria
Karstadt Kaufhof. Which stores
are affected has not yet been announced,
however. According
to initial estimates, about 5000
of the remaining 35,000 jobs
would be at risk. A social plan is
to be introduced for the affected
employees.