European real estate investor Vastint has joined forces with Hines, a global real assets investment manager, to develop a new 193,000sqm residential urban neighbourhood in the west German city of Düsseldorf.
Known locally as the Glasmacherviertel – or Glassmakers’ Quarter – the two firms plan to build between 1,600 and 1,800 new apartments, as well as facilities that include local retail, dining and other social infrastructure.
The joint venture reflects a strong long-term conviction in the European living sector, Vastint and Hines said in a statement.
“Glasmacherviertel is exactly the kind of long-term urban transformation Vastint is committed to,” said Claudia Lewin, managing director at Vastint Germany.
“Drawing on our experience with projects such as Sugar House Island in London, Aire Park in Leeds and Riverview in Gdansk, where a former industrial site is being transformed into a sustainable residential neighbourhood, we look forward to working with Hines to create much-needed homes and a well-connected, mixed-use place that becomes a natural part of Gerresheim,” Lewin said.
The Glasmacherviertel is one of Düsseldorf’s most significant urban development sites, the firms noted.
Up until 2005, the site was used by the former Gerresheimer Glassworks. Since its closure and extensive demolition, a large portion of the site has lain fallow. Vastint and Hines now intend to jointly revitalise the site and develop it into a vibrant, long-term residential neighbourhood, they said.
“With Glasmacherviertel, we aim to transform a site that has been lying fallow for many years into a new residential neighbourhood with approximately 1,700 apartments,” said Benjamin Biehl, senior managing director at Hines.
Biehl cited the “persistent housing shortage in many major European cities” as underpinning the need for the new venture, adding that “projects such as Glasmacherviertel allow us to translate that conviction into new housing supply at scale”.
Under the current plans, there will be a gross floor area of approximately 210,000sqm, of which at least 80% will be allocated to residential use, Vastint and Hines said.
The residential offerings will be complemented by commercial uses and social infrastructure with a goal to create a new neighbourhood on a previously unused site that will provide additional housing while also complementing the existing surroundings in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim, they said.
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