Berlin: from €130,000:The Telefunken building in Berlin, later a US army base, is being turned into an upscale apartment scheme named after Marilyn Monroe. Derek Scallyreports
The huge landmark clock tower, rising high over Berlin's former Telefunken plant, brings to mind the old - but in this case wholly justified - cliché: they don't build them like they used to.
Property hunters sick of cardboard walls, pokey rooms and poor finish should get themselves to Berlin and have a walk around the building that will soon become Monroe Park, a new luxury loft development in Berlin's leafy Zehlendorf suburb that is a landmark twice over.
The development will combine the space and style of an architectural marvel, combining it with the promise of high comfort and high quality finish of German builders, who often put their Irish counterparts to shame.
The building was completed in 1940 after a three-year construction period as the headquarters of Telefunken, the German pioneers of radio and television technology.
Built along the clean, pure lines of architect Hans Hertlein, renowned for his "Siemens Style" of architecture, the monumental scale of the building is clear from a brief glance at the original brochure from 1940.
"The plant has 4,000 windows in total. A tour of the entire hallways is a route of 5km. The building's facades run between 500 and 600 metres.
"The Zehlendorf plant was built using 5.6 million kilograms of iron and 20 million kilograms of cement."
"The former Telefunken plant is, after Tempelhof Airport, the second largest industry landmark and, in Germany, the largest of its kind that's being transformed into apartments," says Udo Schloemer, head of S+P Real Estate, developer of Monroe Park.
"The greatest potential lies in the fact that entire sections of the building have no inner support walls and are very flexible for tailoring the apartments. A ceiling height of almost four metres gives a tremendous sense of space that's enhanced by the high windows."
After the second World War, the plant was converted into a US army base and, since the troops' withdrawal in 1994, the building has been classified as a historical landmark.
Next spring sees the start of the next stage in the building's history, the transition to Monroe Park apartments - named after Marilyn Monroe.
Over three years, more than €70 million will be invested in the 29,000sq m (312,153sq ft) structure by developers S+P Real Estate and the US investment banker Lehman Bros.
The new development will preserve the high ceilings and other generous proportions of the building in its conversion to 291 apartments ranging in price from €130,000 to €500,000.
These range from single-level apartments measuring 70sq m (753sq ft), to maisonettes and penthouses with attic terraces measuring up to 200sq m (2,152sq ft).
A 70sq m apartment costing €130,000 is expected to acheive rents of around €490 a month.
The company is interested in selling single apartments to individuals but also entire "stairwell" packages of eight to 15 apartments.
Overseen by architect Sergei Tchoban, the apartments can have four finishes in four different styles for different target groups, offering everything from top-end Philippe Starck baths to practical oak parquet floors targeted at the family segment.
Over three construction phases from next spring to 2010, the developers are confident that they can create a new landmark in living in the sought-after Berlin suburbs of Zehlendorf and Steglitz.
