Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft mbH Offenbach, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Offenbach, is launching the construction of 105 new publicly subsidized apartments at three locations. The signing of the general contractor agreements marks the start of investments totaling more than 30 million euros. The apartments are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028 and will make an important contribution to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Offenbach. Implementation is subject to the federal government’s approval of funding.
Three projects are now underway: The construction company Heinstadt Reiss has won the bid for the U-shaped building known as WQ 4.0, which will include a daycare center on the site of the former freight yard. A building permit has already been issued for this project. With the construction company B&O serving as general contractor, GBO is having two buildings constructed on Dr.-Rosa-Goldschmidt-Straße and one at Liebigstraße 35a.
City Treasurer and Chair of the Supervisory Board Martin WilhelmIn December, GBO announced plans to build 300 new apartments over the next five years, 125 of which will be publicly subsidized. Affordable housing is one of the most pressing social issues of our time. That is why we are consistently implementing our new construction program despite challenging conditions in the construction industry. With the contracts signed today, we’re giving the green light for 105 new publicly subsidized apartments and demonstrating that construction in Offenbach is moving forward. The signing of these contracts marks the first step toward completing the first third of the new apartments, which are scheduled to be finished by the end of 2028. Every new apartment helps ease the strain on the tight housing market. That is why, as a city, we are making a conscious effort to invest in our municipal housing stock.
In times of rising construction costs, a lengthy lead time was necessary, particularly for the Wohnquartier (WQ) 4.0 building on the site of the former freight yard. “In the first request for proposals, the bids we received were far too high,” says Boris Kupke, who, along with René Weber, heads the management of GBO. “Now, following an optimized update to the plans, we were able to award the contract for a total lump-sum price of 22 million euros gross. Some of the previous bids were as much as 15 million euros higher.”
GBO, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke, plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the WQ 4.0 building in late summer or early fall. The project will include 67 apartments with 1–6 rooms; the ground floor will house a daycare center, and the basement will feature an underground parking garage for cars and bicycles. Several apartments are senior-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. Twenty-nine subsidized apartments in the building will be indirectly occupied. This means these apartments will be rented on the open housing market for an estimated 15 euros per square meter; in return, however, GBO commits to renting out an equal number of apartments from its existing portfolio—which are currently rented on the open market—as affordable housing in the future.
In addition, a senior center for older residents is being built above the daycare center. A pavilion will also be constructed on the roof of the four-story building to serve as a gathering place; furthermore, the roof will be greened and equipped with a photovoltaic system.
The construction company B&O will build the other two projects on Dr.-Rosa-Goldschmidt-Straße and Liebigstraße in parallel, with only a slight time lag between them. This means that the various trades—such as those responsible for basement construction or interior finishing—will not have to travel to Offenbach twice with their construction equipment, but can work through the construction sites one after the other. The synergy effect—combined with the fact that GBO can utilize existing building reserves here and did not have to acquire a single square meter of land for the construction of the buildings—has significantly reduced the costs for both construction projects.
On Dr.-Rosa-Goldschmidt-Straße, two buildings with 24 subsidized apartments are being constructed for a total of just under 6 million euros; on Liebigstraße, a building with 14 subsidized apartments is being built for 3 million euros. On Liebigstraße, a property owned by GBO is being redeveloped, eliminating the need to purchase land. On Dr.-Rosa-Goldschmidt-Straße, construction is taking place on a plot of land contributed to GBO by the city, so no purchase price is incurred here either.
“If the necessary subsidies are received as planned and all 105 apartments are completed, GBO will have increased its current portfolio of approximately 5,000 apartments by two percent within the first half of our five-year plan,” says Boris Kupke. “This will strengthen our ability to help stabilize Offenbach’s overall rent index. This will also benefit all other tenants in Offenbach who do not live in GBO apartments.”
Offenbach has been growing for years. At the same time, the housing market remains tight. With this new construction program, the city is strengthening its municipal housing authority and creating additional, long-term affordable housing.