GBO business plan with an investment volume of 150 million euros adopted

"To implement this investment program, the GBO has increased its new construction team in order to have sufficient capacity for the projects. A total of around 300 additional affordable apartments are to be built, 115 of which could be subsidized apartments," said City Treasurer Wilhelm at the municipal press conference. The city treasurer emphasized that in view of the difficult waters in which the construction industry has found itself, the GBO is dependent on funding commitments for the construction of affordable apartments.

GBO Managing Director Boris Kupke spoke of a "milestone for residential construction in Offenbach". The state has already reserved funding for the Quartier 4.0 new-build project with around 67 new apartments and the building application has been submitted. Apartments are being built here in line with the multi-generational concept, and a daycare center is also planned for the first floor. The ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for 2026.

Construction is also set to begin next year on Dr.-Rosa-Goldschmidt-Straße An den Eichen. Public funding has been applied for here for 24 apartments, as well as for the construction project in Liebig-Carré, where 15 subsidized apartments are to be created through redensification. If approved, construction could begin here in 2027.

In addition, a new home for people in 70 to 80 apartments will be built in the coming years in the Neues Wohnen district, which comprises seven building plots in Bieber and Bürgel that the city has transferred to the GBO's assets. Up to 18 are planned in Franz-Liszt-Quartier II. In Franz-Liszt-Quartier I, 14 apartments are already nearing completion due to the addition of extra storeys. They were built on the houses from the 1950s as part of the facade insulation in serial modular construction.

"The costs for this very efficient type of serial refurbishment are higher than those for conventional and much more protracted construction methods, which, however, entail a significantly higher burden for tenants in occupied buildings," said Boris Kupke. "In the interests of cost-effectiveness, it therefore makes sense to have the construction company adding storeys to the houses at the same time wherever possible. The income from the new apartments can be used to cushion the costs of the refurbishment. This is the only way to make the overall project pay off." Future additions to GBO properties should benefit from the experience gained from the project, which has now been implemented for the first time in this combination of serial insulation with an additional storey.

In addition, 70 apartments are planned in Schubertstrasse, both as an extension and as a new build. There are also plans to add at least 15 new apartments to GBO buildings in Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse.

Adding storeys to existing buildings will continue to play a special role for GBO in the construction of new apartments in the coming years: "This is where we can decouple ourselves from the price trend on the property market and expand our portfolio," said Boris Kupke. Work on further opportunities for affordable housing will also continue outside of the business plan presented, and applications for subsidies will continue.

GBO also relies on perseverance when it comes to funding, said GBO Managing Director René Weber. If an application does not work out, it will be resubmitted. "Affordable construction only works with subsidies, and only if commitments from the municipality, KfW Bank and the state come together. Our aim is to maintain the current proportion of 43 percent subsidized apartments in our portfolio of around 5,000 apartments, or even increase it to 44 percent."

This could also be achieved if the plan for GBO to buy subsidized apartments from ABG in the so-called KWU project in the new Kaiserlei district works out. The Frankfurt housing association is planning a major project with almost 1,200 rental apartments on the former KWU site in Offenbach. GBO has already secured the option to purchase subsidized apartments. The city of Offenbach will provide its housing association with 10 million euros from the federal government's special infrastructure fund for this purpose. This was approved by the city council yesterday evening. "This money would also flow into new GBO apartments," says City Treasurer Martin Wilhelm. "However, it does not yet appear in the ambitious investment program, as the contracts have not yet been signed."

And the plan to buy apartments in the Am Ledermuseum construction project is also not included in the list, as talks with the developer are still ongoing.