With a total investment of more than 40 million euros, the Dutch company The Student Hotel he bought a nineteenth-century building in Florence on the ring road, to start an expansion project in Europe and Italy.
A few days ago, the young company that invented the hybrid hotel model (half a design hotel, half a residence for international students) closed a 100 million euro round of financing with the Dutch APG, arm investment fund of the ABP pension fund which, with investments of 356 billion euros, is one of the largest in the world. The American Perella Weinberg Real Estate has already invested 150 million euros in the company.
"Over the next 3-5 years, we will invest more than 600 million euros”, said Charlie MacGregor, 39, founder and managing director of the group, today during a press conference in Florence, in the presence of the mayor Dario Nardella, a staunch supporter of the operation. MacGregor also announced that his company is looking for suitable buildings to establish in Milan, Rome, Turin and possibly other university cities such as Bologna, Venice and Padua.
With around 200 jobs during the restructuring phase and over 100 buildings when The Student Hotel Firenze will open its doors (in 2017), the operation has employment implications. But the salient aspect is that the model, already successfully tested in Holland, produces a significant effect on the city: modernization.
The building will keep the nineteenth-century facade, but will be completely renovated inside. In a setting of contemporary architecture, at the disposal of young guests there will be a library, study areas, an area reserved for startup incubators, an auditorium, a gym, a rooftop swimming pool and a fleet of bikes. Enough to completely revitalize a building – known in Florence by the nickname of Palazzo del Sonno – which until now had never been an integral part of city life.
