Jo & Joe Open House, a branch of the French hotel group Accor, will open its doors on the two upper floors of the future IKEA at Vienna’s Westbahnhof. Legal counsel for the rental negotiations is provided by fwp.

While many are still on summer holidays, Swedish furniture giant IKEA and the hotel group Accor defied the seasons’ hot temperature and signed a lease agreement. As is generally known, the furniture giant is building a branch featuring a concept unique in the world at Vienna’s Westbahnhof station.

One of the numerous highlights of the pilot project will be the publicly accessible roof with planting. The new tenant is also planning a rooftop bar. The City of Vienna wished for the rooftop terrace to be publicly accessible, which was ensured during the rental negotiations by fwp, one of Austria’s top business law firms both at national and international level.

Legal challenges

As has already been reported earlier this year, the team around fwp partner Markus Kajaba not only had to take care of the framework conditions under regional planning law but is also tasked with ensuring that any other relevant preconditions for the new construction are met. Following the amendment of the zoning plan, the new construction of the IKEA branch at Vienna’s Westbahnhof station will, among other things, require a building permit and an operating license for the opening to take place in 2021 as planned.