A French real estate investment trust has acquired the Abbaye de Penthemont from the French State

French real estate investment trust Foncière des 6ème et 7ème Arrondissements de Paris has recently bought a prestigious office complex from the French State for an undisclosed sum. The Abbaye de Penthemont is situated at the corner of the Rue de Bellechasse and the Rue de Grenelle in Paris’s 7^th arrondissement (district).

The acquisition consists of three separate buildings around a large courtyard, totaling around 12,500 m². They are currently occupied by the French Ministry of Defense, which will vacate the buildings by March 31^st 2016.

The original abbey was founded near Beauvais in 1217, but moved to Paris in 1672 after a flood destroyed the buildings. It took over a former convent and became a fashionable convent school for young ladies.

During the 18^th century, the abbey was completely rebuilt and the first stone was laid in 1742. Lacking sufficient funds, the construction work continued almost up to the Revolution and were much less lavish than originally planned.

The abbey became the property of the French State in 1790. It then served as a barracks before becoming administrative offices in 1915. The buildings are well conserved examples of 18^th century architecture, but little remains of the original interior décor.

Foncière des 6ème et 7ème arrondissements invests in the most prestigious areas of the Rive Gauche. Its latest acquisition has increased its portfolio of offices, hotels and residential buildings by 22% to 68,500m². Its portfolio was valued at €776m in December 2013.

 Picture Credit © Thesupermat

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