PIMCO Prime Real Estate completes redevelopment of the new Radisson Collection Hotel Santa Sofia in Milan

_{Image: Andrea Martiradonna} 

The project has transformed the 1960s office building into a five-star, LEED Gold-certified hotel with strong sustainability credentials while maintaining its highly-regarded architecture and façade.

Located in Via Santa Sofia 37, this landmark hotel has been developed as a high-quality, sophisticated asset which can act as a focal point for the local community in one of Milan’s prime markets. The vision was to set a benchmark in contemporary design, and, through selecting an operator which could fully develop the concept of a lifestyle hotel, deliver a building that enhances the area and caters for both business and leisure audiences.

Spread over seven floors and now forming part of the Radisson Collection suite, Santa Sofia has 159 rooms including suites, two restaurants, a gym, a sauna and an exclusive  roof-top terrace with an outdoor pool, among other amenities. A large, covered inner courtyard has been designed to be a vibrant social space at the heart of the hotel itself and the wider community.

Occupied by Allianz SpA until 2018, the 13,000 sqm hotel is located in the historic center of Milan near the soon-to-be-inaugurated M4 Santa Sofia train station which offers a direct connection to Linate Airport. The refurbishment, which is CRREM compliant, has met PIMCO Prime Real Estate’s sustainability and energy efficiency benchmarks. Features include the use of photovoltaic panels, as well as brand new and efficient building equipment, while maintaining the existing façade reduces the embedded carbon footprint of the regeneration.

The project is the latest in a number of major redevelopment projects that PIMCO Prime Real Estate has completed in Europe over the past few years with the aim of creating market-leading buildings that deliver long-term value for all stakeholders and enhanced returns to investors.

Similar projects in Italy include the transformation of Rome’s historic Palazzo Marignoli into a mixed-used office and retail asset, the redevelopment of the former Allianz-RAS headquarters in Trieste into a five-star hotel, and the ongoing redevelopment of Corso Italia 23, which is in the same neighbourhood as Santa Sofia.

Donato Saponara, Head of South & West Europe, Co-Head of Investment Europe, PIMCO Prime Real Estate, said: “The Santa Sofia hotel is an excellent addition to our European suite, and showcases the best of our manage-to-core asset management strategy. By leveraging the expertise of our local teams and operating platforms, we are able to transform assets into sustainable, top-quality properties that create long-term value for tenants, communities and our investors.”

Fulvio Delaiti, Head of Italy, PIMCO Prime Real Estate, said: “Milan continues to offer very attractive fundamentals in terms of tourism, retail and business demand and it remains a prime market. In the leisure sector, we see guests gravitating towards high quality life-style hotels and we’re delighted to be able to capitalise through the transformation of the Santa Sofia asset into a vibrant five-star hotel.”