Sweden-based real estate investor Revelop has signed a 15-year lease agreement covering approximately 9,000 sqm with AcadeMedia, northern Europe’s largest education company. Through the agreement, the parties are converting Revelop’s property Tuborg 1, in central Malmö, into a modern education campus. The property, a historic red brick industrial building, originally developed as a textile factory, will house three of AcadeMedia’s upper secondary school programmes.
Revelop acquired the asset vacant at the end of 2021 with the plan to convert the existing building into an educational space. Following the lease agreement with AcadeMedia the asset, which also has the gym Nordic Wellness as a tenant, is fully let.
Since the acquisition Revelop has rezoned and extended the building right for the asset, allowing educational usage as upper secondary school administration in the asset. The rezoning gained legal force in August last year, and the building, constructed in the late 1800s for industrial purposes is now being converted into a modern education campus with a cultural-historical value. AcadeMedia will take possession of the premises during the summer of 2025.
With its new designated purpose, meeting the educational needs of central Malmö, the building is being revitalized and given a new extended purpose while minimizing its embedded carbon footprint by avoiding new construction. By converting an existing building, the investment generates approximately 70 percent less carbon dioxide compared to equivalent climate-smart new construction. At the same time, the conversion creates a significant positive social impact, as the neighbourhood is transformed from an empty place into a safe inclusive district with life and movement.
Through the conversion of the asset, Revelop is installing state-of-the-art building technical and facilities management systems to achieve a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly operation. The investments enable a positive change through increased resource efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The asset will be certified according to the Swedish standard Miljöbyggnad Silver.
“When we acquired Tuborg 1, the asset had been vacant for many years. I am very proud of the Revelop team, which implemented a very complex business plan at record speed and, together with AcadeMedia, created a state-of-the-art education campus. This investment is a textbook example of how Revelop extends the life of buildings and takes them on a journey from brown to green. It also exemplifies our strategy to convert outdated commercial real estate assets into core social infrastructure products”, says Revelop’s Group CEO and Executive Partner Thomas Sipos.
AcadeMedia’s establishment in Tuborg 1 comprises three upper secondary schools in a shared campus.
“Malmö, with its rich cultural life, is a hub for research, creativity, design, and music. We are proud to offer three upper secondary schools in a shared campus within a unique historic environment with the best possible ESG credentials. Through this agreement, we will be able to offer even better school and work environments for our students and staff”, says Jimmy Kjellström, Head of AcadeMedia’s upper secondary schools.
Revelop has an ambitious ESG strategy where commercial assets in Sweden’s three metropolitan areas are refined and developed according to a distinct plan. This entails Revelop taking its assets on a sustainable journey from brown to green while investing in areas and assets in need of transformation.
