HafenCity Project

HafenCity - facts and figures

The most important facts and figures about what is currently Europe’s biggest inner-city development project, its varied quarters and land use concepts

Status: September 2011

HafenCity covers an area of 157 hectares, making it one of the most prominent inner-city waterfront development projects in the world. Based on a new concept for urban living, it will increase the size of Hamburg City by 40 percent (Hamburg has a population of approx. 1.78 million, the Hamburg Metropolitan Region 4.3 million). Between the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district and the River Elbe a new city with a cosmopolitan mix of homes, service businesses, culture, leisure, tourism and commerce is emerging. Structures typical of a port will be retained. The development is being managed by HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, a 100-per cent subsidiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The time-frame for development of the entire area extends to circa 2025. HafenCity is already rated as the model project for international waterfront development.


Key data

• Total area: 157 hectares (ha)
• Land area: 126 ha
• Expansion of Hamburg City by 40 %
• Gross floor area (GFA): new building circa 2.32 million m²
• 6,000 homes and more than 45,000 jobs will be created
• 10.5 km of new waterfront with promenades and squares
• Around 26 ha public parks, squares and promenades
• Currently 47 projects are completed; another 37 under construction or planned
• Over 1 million m² GFA already confirmed through sales of land or exclusive options with planning obligations
• Previous to sale, approx. 99 % of sites suitable for construction are publicly owned (“Stadt und Hafen” special fund under public law represented by HafenCity Hamburg GmbH)
• Investment volume: private investment approx. € 8 billion; public investment: circa € 2.4 billion, primarily financed out of sales of land in HafenCity (circa € 1.5 billion)
• General basis for planning:
• Masterplan 2000
• Masterplan revision eastern HafenCity 2011

Development Management and HafenCity Hamburg GmbH


Major urban development projects call for strong interaction and coalescence between conception and realization. In particular, the considerable intricacy involved in securing and closely coordinating public investment (circa EUR 2,4 billion) with securing private investment (total: around EUR 8 billion) results in very complex responsibilities and demands strong management.

In 1997 a port and location development company (GHS) was set up to manage the development of HafenCity – since 2004 it has been known as HafenCity Hamburg GmbH. It is responsible for administration of the "special city and port fund" under public law: sales of land and areas of HafenCity almost completely owned by the City of Hamburg finance the lion’s share of public investment, notably roads, bridges, squares, parks, quays and promenades. In addition to this financing responsibility, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH also clears and prepares sites, plans and builds infrastructure and public spaces, acquires and contracts real estate developers and larger users, and is responsible for public relations and communication.

HafenCity Hamburg GmbH is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.  It is developing HafenCity at Hamburg’s behest.  Public supervision, cooperation, and the division of responsibilities are demanding: the supervisory board of HafenCity Hamburg GmbH consists of members of the city senate. Hamburg is a municipality and one of the 16 federal states of Germany. Sales and options (with an obligation to plan) on land purchases have to be approved by the Land Commission; zoning plans are subject to consultation and approval from the Commission of Urban Development (made up largely of parliamentary and local government representatives), zoning plans are processed by the Ministry of Urban Development and Environment and permits issued by it. Competition juries for urban planning and open space competitions as well as competitions for buildings are constituted, in addition to representatives of private developers and independent architects, by the Ministry of Urban Development and Environment (chief planning officer), the district council, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH and several politicians (from Mitte district or the city parliament).

By concentrating non-official functions in a dedicated development company of its own, Hamburg can ensure the efficiency and quality of the urban development project, yet through intensive division of labor and control also retain a high degree of public accountability.


Development of HafenCity

• 1997: Announcement of the HafenCity project
• 2000: Adoption of the Masterplan by Senate
• From 2000: Start of infrastructure measures; clearing of sites and relocation of businesses
• From 2003: Intensive construction of buildings begins (Am Sandtorkai/Dalmannkai neighborhood)
• 2007: Start of construction in the central Überseequartier area
• 2007: Start of construction of the U4 subway line
• 2009: Overall completion of the first neighborhood, Am Sandtorkai/Dalmannkai
• 2010: revised Masterplan for eastern HafenCity presented and discussed publicly
• 2011 approx. 1,700 residents and 8,400 jobs, circa 3000 companies; completion of Am Sandtorpark/Grasbrook and Brooktorkai/Ericus
• Service of new subway U4 (2012)

Land use in HafenCity district

Total (above-ground) development planned:

• approx. 695,000 sq. m GFA for residential use
• approx. 210,000 sq. m GFA for commercial and public amenity areas in ground floors (i.e. retail, catering, exhibition space and services) 
• approx. 1,130,000 sq. m office space
• approx. 311,000 sq. m GFA education, academia, culture, leisure, hotels and other

Transport connections

Existing: efficient road network connected to the city center and federal freeways;
Two subway stations on northern edge (U1: Messberg, U3: Baumwall); high-performance bus services, some with hydrogen-powered vehicles
Under construction: the new U4 subway line with two stops within HafenCity; start of construction August 2007, completion fall 2012. In the east the U4 will be extended at least to the Elbe bridges (Elbbrücken station), initially underground, then above ground

HafenCity as a sustainable city 

• "Brownfield development": use of former port and industrial areas following any necessary decontamination and restoration; development of residential, leisure, office and business areas compatible with neighboring port activity; parking is virtually all underground in flood-proof building basements thus saving on ground surfaces
• Sustainable city structure: fine-grained mix of uses; compact, short routes; dense yet open urban structure (many possible routes); closely connected to the existing City; already easily accessed via Metrobus, bicycle and on foot; significant percentage of foot and cycle paths follow waterfront; U4 subway connection from fall 2012
• Sustainable thermal energy supply: central heating supply geared to meet 175 g/kWh CO² benchmark in western HafenCity (district heating, solar energy, fuel cells) and an 89 g/kWh benchmark (from 2011) for eastern HafenCity achieved via a local district heating network with bio-methane fuel cells, wood combustion and heat pumps
• Sustainable buildings: Promotion of climate and energy-compatible ecological construction since 2007 through Germany’s first certification system for sustainable construction. Criteria upgraded and expanded 2010 to include mixed-use buildings, hotels and commercial uses. Goal: at least 50% of buildings in central and eastern HafenCity must fulfill standards required for Gold HafenCity Ecolabel, but much higher success rate expected. In future residential buildings only acceptable at the gold standard
• Already preliminarily certified to gold standard: SPIEGEL headquarters building (Brooktorkai/Ericus, Henning Larsen Architects Copenhagen), Katharinenschule primary with child-care center and apartment building (Am Sandtorpark/Grasbrook, Spengler & Wiescholek, Hamburg), DC Commercial business/office building (Am Sandtorpark/Grasbrook, Baumschlager & Eberle Architekten, Lochau (A)), HafenCity University (Elbtorquartier, Code Unique, Dresden), Unilever (Strandkai, Behnisch Architekten), Building containing Greepeace HQ, apartments and designport (Elbtorquartier, Bob Gysin & Partner, Zurich), NIDUS joint building venture building (spine architects)
• Preliminary certification at gold level is expected for: Musikerhaus (Elbtorquartier, Bürgerstadt AG, Berlin), HafenCity Ecumenical Forum (Elbtorquartier, Wandel, Höfer, Loch + Hirsch, Saarbrücken), Residential building 43 (Elbtorquartier), Residential buildings 70 and 71 (Am Lohsepark), Residential buildings 34/15 and 34/16 (Überseequartier), Residential building 33 (Am Sandtorpark/Grasbrook), Residential buildings 55, 56, and 57 (Strandkai) 

Thanks to its sustainable infrastructure and building stock, HafenCity will make a big contribution to meeting climate protection targets in Hamburg both medium and long term. Hamburg's selection as "European Green Capital 2011" can also be attributed to  systematic sustainable development in HafenCity.