The area of the Kistner site that is no longer used for industrial purposes is being upgraded into a mixed residential, retail and service quarter. Situated on a bend in the Geeste river and yet centrally located in the inner city, the area combines excellent urban infrastructure and idyllic living by the water.
With its size of 4.2 hectares, the project is currently one of the smaller projects in Bremerhaven. Its proximity to the city center, its exposed location on the Geeste waterfront and its proximity to the old quarter on Goethestrasse with its renovated multi-storey Wilhelminian-style buildings and good everyday infrastructure make the Kistner site a prime urban development location.
Urban planning competition
A current development plan exists for the site. B-Plan 490 was the result of a competition held in 2016 by BIS Bremerhaven Economic Development Company with the housing construction companies GEWOBA and STÄWOG and the project developers PROCON and WÜBBEN. The winning design was submitted by the Hamburg architectural firm Spengler & Wiescholek in cooperation with Bruun & Möllers Garten- und Landschaftsbau.
The plans envisage two construction phases. In the first construction phase, a food market with 1,200 square meters of retail space has already been built on Hafenstrasse, as well as a hostel that integrates the striking, listed structures (press hall and chimney) and four apartment buildings with a view of the water.
Next steps
In the second construction phase, 132 new apartments are being built. GEWOBA is constructing two new buildings with 66 price-controlled apartments, while the other 66 non-price-controlled apartments are being built by the Schiffdorf-based construction company GERBA. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in July 2023 and completion is scheduled for spring 2025.
