CONSTRUCTION OFF TO A SUCCESSFUL START

FROM OFFICE TO HOTEL – THE RUBY IN ROME

We interviewed Development Manager Caspar Kraushaar, who is heading up the project at ECE Work & Live, and Technical Development Manager Giovanni Zampieron, who is in charge of practical implementation on the ground. We spoke about what makes the property so attractive and what challenges converting it into a hotel has involved.

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How was the project acquired and what makes this property special?

Caspar Kraushaar: Since we operate throughout Europe as a hotel developer, we have very good contacts in Italy too. We can also avail ourselves of the network of our Italian subsidiary in Milan. We were immediately impressed by the early-19th-century building. Besides its prime location in Rome, it has a quintessentially Italian look and an efficiently laid-out floor plan. From the terrace, there’s an unobstructed view of the Vatican over the rooftops. The perfect location for a modern lifestyle hotel

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What makes Rome an attractive city for hotel development – especially for the tenant, Ruby?

Caspar Kraushaar: What makes Rome so exciting, just like Milan, Florence, and Naples, is that it attracts both leisure tourists from all over the world and a lot of business travelers. That mix means there’s a very high demand for hotels all year round. Ruby specializes in perfectly catering to this mixed demand. They’re also adept at retrofitting existing properties, which made them the ideal partner for this project.

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Which services does ECE provide and manage from its headquarters in Germany and which are dealt with by local partners in Rome?

Caspar Kraushaar: At our head-quarters in Hamburg, we’re mainly responsible for overall budget coordination and liaison with the tenant. For the conversion, like with all international projects, we are working with highly capable local partners. We were able to bring an architects’ firm from Florence that specializes in hotels on board, and they’re working with a construction company from Rome to complete the project. Local partners are essential to ensure the permit process with local authorities runs smoothly, among other things. ECE’s Giovanni Zampieron regularly visits the site so he can keep abreast of current progress. >

From left to right: Giovanni Zampieron, Torsten Kuttig, and Caspar Kraushaar.

In September 2021, ECE Work & Live acquired a historic property in the heart of Rome that was previously used as an office building and is currently being converted into a hotel. It also found an operator: the fast-growing, lean-luxury hotel group Ruby Hotels. The conversion work is already underway, with the opening scheduled for spring 2025.

60 million €

TOTAL INVESTMENT

6,700 m²

GROSS FLOOR AREA

164

ROOMS

6 STORIES
ROOFTOP

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What specific tasks is the project manager responsible for at local level?

Giovanni Zampieron: As the link between external partners and internal departments, the project manager is responsible for each stage of project delivery, from the initial design studies and analyses to completion and handover to the tenant and investor. That includes selecting, coordinating, and doing quality assurance checks on external companies and ensuring adherence to the budget, schedule, and quality standards

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What particular challenges has the Hotel conversion involved?

Giovanni Zampieron: The particular challenge in this project has been to preserve the historic architecture during the conversion, while at the same time making optimum use of the space and attaining high technological standards. Creative, original solutions and new approaches were needed to meet the tenant’s specifications and perfectly utilize the rooms, which had to be preserved in line with the structure and the openings in the facade. For instance, due to the unique situation, we decided to put the reception and lobby on the top floor, so as to offer guests a fantastic view of the city the moment they arrive. //

ESG-Spotlight

Converting the building rather than demolishing it reduces gray emissions and avoids the need to build on new land. The property will be certified in line with DGNB sustainability standards. The aim is also to ensure the building is taxonomy-compliant, with the goal of achieving Gold certification. During the planning phase, a resource monitoring system was developed to pave the way for sustainable operation of the building. The measures included choosing water-saving faucets, aerators, and toilet tanks for the rooms, communal areas, and back office. The property is being developed in accordance with ECE’s compliance standards to ensure reliable, honest, and fair business relationships.

Impressions

Site inspection

“Conversions will become increasingly common for our hotel assets in the future, both for reasons of sustainability and because new-builds are often not possible in the favored central locations.”

TORSTEN KUTTIG, DIRECTOR HOTEL DEVELOPMENT AT ECE WORK & LIVE