Planning for a new, permanent chancery began in the 2000s, with the government first looking at purchasing the property on Jägerstraße 71 in Friedrichstadt, across from the first headquarters of Deutsche Bank. At the time, the Philippines was the only Southeast Asian country whose embassy in Germany didn't own its chancery nor its ambassadorial residence outright, and housing the Embassy in that building would've been fitting as it was where José Rizal completed his first novel, "Noli Me Tángere". With all Philippine government offices in Germany being hosted in the building, plus the ambassadorial residence being located on the top floor, the building was proposed to become the Philippine Center for Europe.