Where just three years ago a lonely town hall stood on a barren meadow, a new urban development has emerged: BUWOG NEUE MITTE SCHÖNEFELD. While the first residents move in, the boom in the airport community continues.
“Single town hall seeks…” Written on BUWOG’s orange containers, this text could come from a dating site and marked the launch of the construction project around the town hall in 2020. In the meantime, what fits together has come together: the town hall is flanked by two striking urban villas and two ring-shaped buildings, where once there was a treeless barren wasteland, a new town square has been created, as well as numerous outdoor and green areas.
The development comprises a total of 333 apartments, the majority of which have already found new owners who are either moving in themselves or renting out their apartments. The first balconies are being planted for the summer, parasols provide shade for sandboxes, and there are children’s toys on some of the terraces. Some of the apartments are still available. The current offers can be found at www.neuemitte-schoenefeld.de. Residential property can be found here beginning at around EUR 4,000 per square metre, commission-free, directly from the developer.
Condominiums with 1 to 4 rooms
BUWOG made it a point to design the mix of apartments to include everything from one to four rooms. “From singles to families, everyone will find a place to live that works for them. Because we believe a social mix is very important for a new development,” BUWOG Managing Director Eva Weiß explains.
In other words, structural diversity, which for BUWOG is the result of premium-quality planning. BUWOG bases its developments on a coefficient for a mix of residential space. “This ratio ensures that 100% of the residential space created is mixed, which means that if there is a 40-square-metre single apartment, we also build a family apartment of 80 square metres in the same development,” Eva Weiß says.
All of the apartments at BUWOG NEUE MITTE SCHÖNEFELD have balconies, terraces or, depending on the location, a rooftop terrace – some with views as far as the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). Perfect for “plane spotting” yet in a quiet location, as the development is located outside the flight corridors.
Growth at a glance: Schönefeld Nord
BER is the engine for growth of the entire region. Its importance as a transport hub is increasing, and passenger numbers are steadily on the rise, currently totalling around 2.2 million per month. And the influx to Schönefeld is also showing positive development. The Schönefeld Nord project initiated by the municipality marks a significant step towards the future of the community and underscores the shared goal of creating a liveable, sustainable and innovative development for everyone.
Specifically, Schönefeld Nord involves an area of approximately 160 hectares to the north of the town hall, located between the railway line and the border with Berlin. The new Schönefeld Nord development will provide space for as many as 10,000 people. Offices, commercial space, several schools and numerous other types of infrastructure required for public life will also be created. The connecting element is a dense network of green and open spaces.
While the development of the area was shaped primarily by individual projects in the past, since 2022 the premises has been undergoing holistic planning in the scope of an urban planning competition. This entails the creation of relevant necessities, such as daycare centres, educational facilities, sports and public park facilities, as well as overarching topics such as energy and sustainability. The aim is to develop a masterplan within which the individual property owners can orientate themselves. This is also a showcase project, about which Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz was invited by the municipality of Schönefeld to find out more and to talk to the companies represented in the BER+ initiative on site. BUWOG is also involved in this initiative as a property developer in the area surrounding the airport.
Urban density with sustainable qualities
What good and, above all, sustainable urban development and high-quality urban density look like can be experienced directly next to the town hall. Around 900 people will find a home in the BUWOG NEUE MITTE SCHÖNEFELD development. The new apartments are built based on the environmentally friendly KfW 55 standard. The development is compact, the space efficiently used, and parked cars disappear into the underground car park. The outdoor areas have already been planted and most of them are well established. These green areas make a valuable contribution to the ecological balance of the development. Unsealed surfaces allow rainwater to seep away and be fed back into the natural water cycle. In addition, permeable grass pavers and porous surfaces are used to support the recirculation of rainwater. The near-natural design of the surrounding areas includes a large number of newly planted perennials, shrubs and 53 trees, which were specially selected to optimally adapt to the regional conditions. Native species include hornbeam and wild apple.
“With the completion of the project, we are sending a strong signal in support of sustainable residential construction in the region while at the same time creating modern, environmentally friendly residential space that meets the needs of future residents,” BUWOG Managing Director Eva Weiß explains.
Thus, this new centre in Schönefeld is not only a new home for people, but also a model for future construction projects in the urban environment.
Currently available condominiums can be found at www.neuemitte-schoenefeld.de
“You can find residential property here from around 4,000 euros per square metre.”
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