Ground-Breaking at the Kiezkante: 100 Per Cent Affordable Housing, Creative Spaces and a Hotel – Work Starts on Site

In close coordination with the Senate Departments for Urban Development, Finance and Culture, as well as the Hamburg-Mitte District Office, SAGA and Quantum are realising the construction project with a clear focus on social sustainability and cultural use. 100 per cent of the residential units being created will be delivered as publicly subsidised housing. In addition, spaces for the creative industries and a hotel will be developed.

A total of 169 apartments will be built across three funding tiers. The residential buildings will rise to six and eight storeys respectively. The scheme also includes a nursery and seven commercial units with approximately 1,300 square metres of usable floor space. Facing the Spielbudenplatz, Quantum will deliver a hotel building and a property for cultural uses. The creative building will provide seven floors of space for the creative industries; the ground floor and basement will additionally accommodate a live music club. The spaces designated for neighbourhood-specific club and cultural uses will be operated by Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft.

The commencement of construction marks the transition of this long-running site development into a concrete realisation phase.

Karen Pein, Senator for Urban Development and Housing: "100 per cent social housing at this location, across a range of funding tiers, sends a powerful signal: with approximately 170 publicly subsidised apartments – including provision for those in urgent housing need – St. Pauli remains a neighbourhood for everyone. A broad housing offer spanning one- to five-person households directly addresses diverse needs, from families to single-person households, for whom smaller apartments are particularly scarce on the Hamburg housing market. This is a clear statement against displacement. A long-standing gap in the urban fabric will now become a vibrant, mixed-use urban space: the 'Kiezkante' brings affordable housing, creative uses and life to the Spielbudenplatz – combined with permanently secured cultural spaces and amenities such as a nursery, commercial units and hospitality."

Dr Andreas Dressel, Senator for Finance: "After years of stagnation, this brownfield site in the heart of St. Pauli will finally become a living place once more – just as we agreed with all partners in the joint letter of intent at the end of 2024. The mix of subsidised housing, creative uses, culture and a hotel creates a package that is as compelling as it is exciting, and one that will integrate seamlessly into the neighbourhood."

Dr Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media: "Music, culture and the creative industries are part of the DNA of the Reeperbahn and St. Pauli. It is right that this will now become a permanent feature of the newly emerging Kiezkante, with the support of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft. Our goal is to create a new quarter here in which culture and the creative industries find a lasting home."

Ralf Neubauer, Head of Hamburg-Mitte District Office: "The iconic Esso-Häuser are long gone – now, at last, a new piece of St. Pauli is taking shape here. Many elements from the participatory process have been carried forward; some, regrettably, could not be. But above all, what will emerge here are 169 affordable apartments that the neighbourhood has long been calling for. The fact that, in such a challenging construction market environment, this project has succeeded in reaching the implementation stage at all is a tremendous achievement – and one for which I am grateful to everyone involved."

Frank Gerhard Schmidt, Board Member of Quantum: "We are delighted that things are now truly getting under way – under a new name and with a concept that fits the neighbourhood. Together with all those involved, we will create a vibrant place that brings together culture, housing and hospitality."

Dr Thomas Krebs, Spokesman of the Board of SAGA Unternehmensgruppe: "SAGA is Hamburg's social neighbourhood developer. Alongside building new affordable housing, we are currently acquiring in particular land and project developments of city-wide significance that have not progressed to realisation due to the crisis. The Kiezkante project is, alongside the Holsten Areal, a prominent example of this commitment, which we are delivering in our tried-and-tested partnership with Quantum. I am especially pleased that we are able to build 169 urgently needed publicly subsidised apartments right here in the neighbourhood."

The site of the former "Esso-Häuser" has been a focus of urban development for many years. Following the acquisition of the plot in 2009 by Bayerische Hausbau, plans for a new development under the name "Paloma-Viertel" were drawn up with public involvement. Public events and participatory formats gave local residents the opportunity to contribute their perspectives to the planning process. However, no construction was realised in the years that followed. In 2024, the site was sold to SAGA Unternehmensgruppe and Quantum Immobilien AG, who are now jointly advancing and delivering the project.