Economics Minister visits innovation campus
16.05.2025 – To mark the Day of Urban Development Promotion (TdS), events are being held across Germany under the motto "Vibrant places, strong communities". Last weekend, there was a special highlight for the city of Offenbach: Hesse's Minister of Economics Kaweh Mansoori visited the Innovation Campus and, in the presence of Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke and City Councillor Paul-Gerhard Weiß (Head of the Department for Urban Planning, Order and Education), took part in a public tour to find out about the current status of the project.
The city has purchased the 36-hectare former industrial wasteland and is developing it into a modern business location together with its subsidiary INNO Innovationscampus Offenbach GmbH & Co. KG - supported by the "Growth and Sustainable Renewal" urban development program since 2016. ProjektStadt, the urban development brand of the Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt (NHW) Group, has been responsible for managing the funding since 2024. Also on site were NHW Managing Director Monika Fontaine-Kretschmer, Markus Eichberger (NHW, Head of Urban Development), the team from INNO Innovationscampus Offenbach GmbH & Co KG led by Managing Director Božica Niermann, Project Manager Stefanie Hanne and from ProjektStadt | Integrated Urban Development Project Manager Katharina Müller and Dominik Goldmann.
Living testimony to Offenbach's long history
Economics Minister Mansoori was impressed: "This site is a living testimony to Offenbach's long history as an important center of the chemical industry. It is great to see how this formerly derelict site is now developing into an innovative commercial location supported by the 'Growth and Sustainable Regeneration' urban development program. New jobs are being created here in the city center and a place where Hessen can increasingly live out its innovative potential. It is particularly important to me that the historic industrial buildings are also preserved and sensibly developed further. We are not only creating a future-proof economic area here, but are also focusing on sustainable and responsible urban development."
Nationwide lighthouse character
"The Innovation Campus is an example of the decline and resurgence of the economy in Offenbach. The fact that we have succeeded in attracting sustainable industries is of central importance for the people of Offenbach. After all, this will permanently improve Offenbach as a business location - in other words, the city's financial strength," emphasized Mayor Schwenke. "The project has been repeatedly recognized as a nationwide beacon for sustainable growth, competitive production and innovative working environments." Head of Planning Paul-Gerhard Weiß emphasized the good cooperation between all project partners. "Because everyone involved is working together consistently and in a solution-oriented manner, we will lead the development of the Innovation Campus to success."
One of the most exciting challenges in the Rhine-Main metropolitan region
The project is also something special for the urban development experts at NHW. "We have been successfully managing funding for local authorities for decades," emphasized Managing Director Monika Fontaine-Kretschmer. "The Innovation Campus is one of the most exciting challenges in the Rhine-Main metropolitan region. After all, it is the largest contiguous inner-city commercial development area - a highly complex task in which we are supporting the city with our expertise in funding management as a partner."
At the TdS, citizens were able to inspect and find out about key aspects of the large-scale project: listed buildings such as the bathhouse, the warehouse and the three-arched hall were discussed, as well as traffic development and the planned climate-adapted pocket park with a storage basin for surface water. They were also provided with historical facts and were able to view visualizations from the urban development design and the development plan, among other things.