- Approximately 1,600 new apartments / 107,000 square meters of living space
- 22,000 m2 of commercial space in new buildings and historic existing buildings
- Construction of comprehensive social infrastructure such as a daycare center, as well as youth and community centers
Neighborhood centers - Funding for 138 primary school places in the immediate vicinity
Today’s laying of the foundation stone officially marks the start of the implementation of the Konnekt project by LABORGH, Kondor Wessels and HOWOGE in Berlin-Marzahn. In the coming years, a future-oriented, mixed-use, largely car-free quarter with apartments, businesses, social facilities and a neighborhood garage will be built on the approximately 94,000 square meter eastern section of Georg-Knorr-Park, directly adjacent to the Marzahn S-Bahn station.
The area combines listed buildings with new architecture. Brick buildings from the industrial past are carefully integrated, while new buildings – designed in cooperation with the architectural firms David Chipperfield Architects, Hilmer Sattler Architekten, ioo Planungsgesellschaft and RudyZix Architekten – lead the site into the future. A total of around 1,600 apartments are being built here, including apartments for students and senior citizens. The district is complemented by the social infrastructure built by the project developer, such as a daycare center, a youth recreation center and a neighborhood center. In addition, 138 new primary school places in the neighborhood will be financed as part of the Berlin model.
Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin:
“With the KONNEKT residential quarter, one of Berlin’s largest new urban quarters is being created in Marzahn – with urgently needed, affordable housing for many Berliners.” This is a strong signal for a growing and future-oriented metropolis like Berlin. Our city needs more projects like this. My thanks go to everyone involved in this project – HOWOGE, the project partners Kondor Wessels and Laborgh East, as well as the responsible officials in the district. KONNEKT stands for a Berlin that is growing – and for modern urban development with responsibility.”
Christian Gaebler, Senator for Urban Development, Construction and Housing:
“Today’s laying of the foundation stone marks another milestone in Berlin’s housing construction offensive.” With the first construction phase comprising 270 residential units, another of our 24 new urban districts is entering concrete implementation in Georg-Knorr-Park. A vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with 1,600 new apartments is being created here, around half of which are subject to rent control. This means a new home for more than 3,500 Berliners. The 340 planned smaller apartments take into special consideration the needs of trainees, students and senior citizens.
The large-scale project was acquired by the state-owned HOWOGE housing company in December 2024. According to the cooperation agreement concluded between the state of Berlin and the state-owned housing companies, at least 50 percent of the apartments will be subject to rent control and occupancy restrictions.
“This project has been with me for over 10 years now, a third of my professional career, and I am delighted that all the preliminary work, the ideas, the concept are finally taking visible form. Our goal from the outset was to develop a neighborhood that preserves the character of the place while simultaneously creating real added value for the city. The fact that HOWOGE is taking over the entire project guarantees permanently affordable housing and social diversity,” explains Florian Lanz, Managing Director of LABORGH Investment GmbH.
For HOWOGE, this collaboration is more than just an acquisition. Managing Director Ulrich Schiller emphasizes that the partnership secures the ambitious revitalization of the disused commercial sites. “Here, we have created an urban district with short distances, which not only connects living, working, and social infrastructure but also meets the climate goals of the state of Berlin. Such projects are only possible when private investors, municipal companies, and politicians and administrators share responsibility. That is precisely what Berlin needs right now – and we have succeeded,” Schiller continued.
In addition to housing construction, the district will also become an important economic location. In the central area, approximately 22,000 square meters of commercial space are being created for non-disruptive businesses, ideal for small offices, creative industries and urban services. This will include, among other things, an office building in the southern part and a commercially lined pedestrian underpass from west to east, with direct access to the S-Bahn station.
The energy concept relies on a virtually CO2-neutral energy supply: Through photovoltaic systems on the roofs, heat pump technology and an independent, renewable heating system, the district is supplied in a future-oriented, climate-friendly manner.
“Our central aim is to create a vibrant neighborhood that combines living, working, and creative services. This diversity fosters a sustainable district that promotes innovation and offers people real added value in their everyday lives. And thanks to our collaboration with Howoge, we are even able to achieve this within the framework of subsidized housing,” says Marcus Becker, Managing Director of Kondor Wessels Bouw Berlin GmbH.
The district is largely car-free and benefits from its excellent connection to public transport due to its immediate location next to the Marzahn S-Bahn station. Numerous bicycle parking spaces, green courtyards and high-quality open space design are intended to create an attractive and sustainable living and working environment.
With this approach, Konnekt builds on the industrial history of the site and at the same time leads it into the next chapter of its use as a vibrant, socially mixed and ecologically sustainable urban space. The eventful history of the place, which was also marked by forced labor, is not ignored: In coordination with the monument preservation authorities, an exhibition is planned that will pay tribute to this part of the history.
The project is distinguished not only by its planning concept, but also by the path taken to get there: LABORGH and Kondor Wessels actively advanced the planning process in close and collaborative coordination with HOWOGE, despite all the regulatory and technical complexities, and transformed it into a viable solution. The suitability for development had to be secured through a new development plan procedure, accompanied by investigations into contaminated sites, compensatory measures, considerations of monument protection, public-law contracts for infrastructure financing and a multi-stage competition and participation process.