Aarhus University has sold its share of Navitas

The sale of the university’s share of the Navitas building is an important step towards the realisation of AU’s vision of a cohesive urban campus in Aarhus, says University Director Kristian Thorn.

Photo: Jesper Rais

After six months on the market, AU’s share in Navitas has found a new owner, AAA United.

University Director Kristian Thorn is pleased that the deal has been closed:

“Being part owner of Navitas has been an asset to AU. At the same time, we wish to pursue a strategic spatial consolidation of the university’s activities in Aarhus, and this sale was an important piece of that puzzle that has now fallen into place. This will enable us to create a cohesive, integrated urban campus linking the University Park, the University City and Katrinebjerg whish will further strengthen research synergies and provide a setting for a unique learning environment,” he says.

The university’s engineering programmes at Navitas will relocate to new facilities in Katrinebjerg, together with other subjects under the Faculty of Technical Sciences. And there’s plenty of time to prepare for the move AU will continue as a tenant at Navitas until mid-2031, when the new facilities are expected to be ready for occupancy.

Sale coordinated with INCUBA

AU’s sale of its share of Navitas is taking place in coordination with the research park INCUBA, which is also selling its share.

The share of Navitas AU is selling currently houses the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering and in addition to foundation courses and upper secondary school-focused activities.

INCUBA is selling its commercial space, a total of 15,196 m2, which is rented out to knowledge-intensive companies at all stages of their growth journey. INCUBA’s director Jacob Doktor Mogensen calls it “a natural choice”:

As a research park, we facilitate the translation of some of the knowledge generated at Aarhus University into new companies and more jobs in Eastern Jutland. So clearly, it makes sense for us to coordinate a sale with the university in order to ensure our continued proximity to research ecosystems and students,” he said.

As with AU, INCUBA’s current tenants can continue to enjoy their location on the harbour for some time to come: INCUBA will relocate at the same time as AU, in mid-2031.

Buyer offer long lease

The real estate company AAA United is taking over ownership of AU’s and INCUBA’s shares in Navitas. Director Anders Krogh is looking forward to a positive collaboration with both co-owners and tenants of Navitas. He says:

"We are pleased to have this opportunity to co-own a landmark building in a fantastic location in Aarhus – a city close to our hearts. Throughout the process, we’ve had a good dialogue with Aarhus University and INCUBA, whose tenancy will continue, and we are looking forward to a similarly good working relationship with the Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering.”