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.

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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. The HafenCity Sustainability Pavilion is also the local information point for European Green Capital 2011, during and beyond Hamburg’s tenure.

On the occasion of the presentation, Jutta Blankau, Hamburg senator for urban development and environment, said: "HafenCity, as Europe’s largest inner city land recycling project and with its sustainability standards, has made a considerable contribution to Hamburg being awarded the title of European Green Capital 2011. The Sustainability Pavilion makes it clear that sustainability will remain a central theme in the development of Hamburg’s largest urban regeneration project over the long term."

As Jürgen Bruns-Berentelg, chief executive of HafenCity Hamburg GmbH put it: "Through its activities at various levels, HafenCity is already regarded as an international model project for ecological sustainable urban development. To attain this quality, intelligent management is needed, as well as active participation by many parties – the companies that build sustainable buildings or users who grasp the chance of sustainable mobility. The new pavilion is a source of information and motivation to regard the process of ecological sustainability as a joint venture and to perceive sustainability not as a technical solution, but it as a strategic approach."

The exhibition commences with the redevelopment of the old industrial and port uses site into the central location for homes, work, leisure and culture (brownfield development). Particular emphasis is given to efficient use of land and the high density of uses. Energy-saving mobility is another focus: starting from the fine-grained mix of uses, the area is made attractive to pedestrians and cyclists, and high quality public transport is another feature. The proportion of motorized private transport is to drop overall to 30 per cent. Innovative approaches and project illustrate the topics of construction and energy supply: the HafenCity Ecolabel for sustainable construction was the first of its kind in Germany; heat supply, particularly for the eastern neighborhoods, unites local regenerative energy sources and extremely low CO2 emission limits with market efficiency. The goal is to achieve this quality without subsidies and through intelligent management.

The concept for the exhibition was by Büro Spine and Agentur Urbanista (Hamburg) supplied the content, which provides an informative overview but also selectively goes into more detail. A sculpture constructed of used euro-pallets is a pointer to the port and also integrates multimedia information on the subject of sustainable urban development. Additional information can be integrated on a continuous basis.

The exhibition pavilion also has a small café managed by Elbfaire e.G. The products – whether coffee or food – all stem from sustainable and fair growers. Elbfaire will also be running the café in the new Ecumenical Forum.

Individual visitors and groups can find out more in German and English. As in HafenCity-Infocenter in Kesselhaus, presentations and guided tours are offered free. There is also a dedicated event programme, e.g. with discussion opportunities and themed events. Last but not least, the HafenCity Sustainability Pavilion is also the starting point for special environmental tours where the subjects in the exhibition can be experienced at first hand: the density of the neighborhoods, the carefully designed open spaces, the fast pathway connections, the ecologically outstanding buildings – and much more.

Photos can be found in the HafenCity image database.

Press contact:
Susanne Bühler, Press and Public Relations, HafenCity Hamburg GmbH
Tel: +49 40 37 47 26 14, email: Buehler@hafencity.com