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Facts & Figures

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

Essential facts and figures about Europe’s biggest inner-city development project now, its varied neighborhoods and land use concepts
Status: March 2012

 Overview

  1. Essential facts  & figures
  2. Development Management and HafenCity Hamburg GmbH
  3. Development of HafenCity
  4. Land use - current status
  5. Sustainable HafenCity
  6. Quarters

 

1. ESSENTIAL FACTS & FIGURES

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 and “new downtown” 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 49 projects are completed; another 35 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 2010


 2. DEVELOPEMENT MANAGEMENT AND HAFENCITY HAMBURG GMBH

Major urban development projects call for strong interaction and coalescence between conception and realization. In particular, because of the high level of development and the considerable intricacy involved in closely coordinating public investment (circa EUR 2,4 billion) with acquisition of private investment (around EUR 8 billion) the resulting responsibilities are very complex and demand 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 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.

Press Contact

Direct press requests to HafenCity Hamburg GmbH:

 

Your contact:

Susanne Bühler
Head of Communications
Phone: +49 (0)40 37 47 26 - 14

Franka Kühn
Communication and Public Relations
Phone: +49 (0)40 37 47 26 - 21

Or use our contact form:
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Press Pictures

HafenCity Press Picture Database

For editorial purposes, you can download pictures, illustrations and plans free of charge after you have registered

Press Films

HafenCity Press Film Database

For editorial purposes, you can download videos free of charge after you ordered a link for download

Press Releases

11.05.2012 - Summer in HafenCity 2012

New program items and new participants

HafenCity’s program of events for the summer is about as varied as the city district itself. From June 3 through August 26 2012, HafenCity will be transformed into a public open-air stage for the ever-popular series of “Summer in HafenCity” events. The area’s many waterside squares and promenades provide an inviting open-air backdrop to a changing program – this year including new program items and new participants.

19.04.2012 - Hamburg builds for the future

HafenCity and the International Building Exhibition (IBA Hamburg) show their innovative projects at the Hanover Trade Fair 2012

Hamburg’s two major municipal developments are being presented as ‘lighthouse projects’ in the Metropolitan Solutions special exhibition at the Hanover Trade Fair. The object of the exhibition, entitled ‘Stadt neu bauen’ [‘Rebuilding the city’], is to initiate an international dialogue on intelligent municipal growth, as well as encouraging people to visit Hamburg for the IBA Presentation Year in 2013.

21.03.2012 - Building the city anew – the major city of tomorrow

A shared exhibition in the European Parliament is showcasing Hamburg’s two high-profile urban development projects. Invitations to attend the opening have gone out from EU MP Birgit Schnieber-Jastram to members of parliament, EU Commission representatives and town-planning and architecture experts.

06.03.2012 - HafenCity at MIPIM 2012 real estate show

March 6-9 in Cannes

Once again HafenCity is presenting itself at the leading international real estate exhibition in Cannes where around 4,000 investors from 90 countries and around 19,000 participants meet up for four days. In addition, a large stand will represent other urban development projects in the City of Hamburg. Altogether 407 cities from all over the world are being presented at the show.

20.12.2011 - HafenCity Ecolabel awarded for the first time

Gold sustainability accolade for Unilever building

The first building in HafenCity has been awarded the Ecolabel for exemplary sustainable construction, following preliminary certification. The Unilever building on Strandkai has received the HafenCity Ecolabel in gold, subsequent to external validation. The award will be presented to the owner of the building, RREEF Investment GmbH, and project developer HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung GmbH, in the present of Unilever’s management and entire staff.

05.12.2011 - Intelligent Quarters in Hamburg’s HafenCity

Störmer Murphy and Partners win architectural competition launched by ECE

Hamburg-based ECE plans a new project in Elbtorquartier at the heart of HafenCity called the Intelligent Quarters. The site is adjacent to the Elbe River, between Magdeburger Hafen basin and the future Hafen City University (HCU). Visible from afar, a 70m office building is to be built on the waterfront in Elbtorquartier, together with two more buildings, to will include homes and ground-floor publicly accessible uses.

04.10.2011 - HafenCity Hamburg at EXPO REAL 2011 - Building Bridges to the Future

Green and yet metropolitan – that was the image HafenCity presented in Green Capital year 2011. Through an abundance of completed construction ventures and building projects, Hamburg’s newest city district has positioned itself successfully in many different respects as a sustainable yet urban city development project.

10.06.2011 - HafenCity "bridge-building": First mayor Olaf Scholz opens festivities at Magdeburger Hafen

Now that realization of the western neighborhoods is more or less complete, the development of HafenCity has arrived in its center. On 10 and 11 June, a big public celebration marks the opening of the new squares, promenades and bridges around Magdeburger Hafen. The idea behind the event is "bridge-building" since the new central area around Magdeburger Hafen bridges the gap between HafenCity and the existing city center. Now the Inner Alster and Magdeburger Hafen are only 900 meters apart and can be quickly and easily reached on foot via the central "Domplatz Axis" in just minutes. The first mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, opened the bridge with official celebrations on 10 June.

20.05.2011 - Osaka 9 – the new HafenCity Sustainability Pavilion

The HafenCity InfoCenter in Kesselhaus now also has a "green" branch. Since May 2011 the Osaka 9 Sustainability Pavilion on the Magdeburger Hafen promenade has been bringing HafenCity’s sustainability themes alive. The 120 sq.m exhibition space provides a compact overview of the most important topics of ecological urban development.

28.04.2011 - "Summer on the Magellan Terraces" becomes "Summer in HafenCity"

From 2006 the program for “Summer on the Magellan Terraces” was focused solely on the Magellan Terraces as a location, with a series of themes such as “summer tango”, “author readings taking the stage”, “BauTraum – planning and building for children”, and street theater.

08.04.2011 - "A park for everyone" – Sandtorpark opens with a local street party

HafenCity’s first green park, Sandtorpark, is to be opened with a neighborhood street party. From now on this green space is available to residents and visitors to HafenCity, children from the school and kindergarten or employees from surrounding workplaces to enjoy. It covers 6000 sqm, forms the green heart of the second neighborhood in HafenCity to reach completion, and is an important place for free time, relaxation and conviviality.

07.03.2011 - Core location with sustainable qualities

HafenCity played an important part in the upswing in the Hamburg commercial and industrial real estate market since mid-2010. Market surveys and sales to major investment funds are proof of the attraction of Hamburg’s new downtown to investors. The key to this is not just HafenCity’s location – in the centre of Hamburg and with the added maritime edge of its Elbe river front – but also, and increasingly, its strategy of sustainable development.

20.12.2010 - Bridging the Baakenhafen

The 130m long and around 21m wide Baakenhafen Bridge will connect the northern part of the Baakenhafen quarter with its southern part, and represents an important milestone in the ongoing development of the eastern HafenCity

17.12.2010 - Opening of new Busanbrücke bridge

The most important bridge connection in central HafenCity has thus opened once again for pedestrians and cyclists. With its new name, the Busanbrücke also builds a symbolic bridge between the cities of Busan and Hamburg

25.10.2010 - Topping-out ceremony celebrates new SPIEGEL building

A crucial milestone for the SPIEGEL group on Ericusspitze: a traditional topping-out ceremony took place to mark the completion of the construction shell on October 25, 2010. The building already has preliminary certification for the HafenCity Ecolabel in gold.