Hamburg's Holsten-area: Pre-purchase right as an opportunity for affordable living space!

Hamburg's Holsten-area: Pre-purchase right as an opportunity for affordable living space!

A decommissioned piece of history in Hamburg: The former Holsten area in Altona is waiting for a future that has seemed uncertain so far. Hinz and Kunzt reports that there has been peace for five years on the 86,000 square meter site that was once used for brewing beer. Actually over 1,300 apartments should be created here, but the plans were never implemented. The owner of the area, which is very important to the city, is the Adler group, which is currently in financial difficulties and wants to sell the area.

The municipal housing association Saga and Quantum-Immobilien AG have received exclusivity when buying the site and are now in negotiations. But this situation is bubbling in the city. The chairman of the Hamburg Tenants' Association, Rolf Bosse, criticizes that a transaction at the Adler Group's market price could bring in a full profit. In order to counteract such speculative requirements, Bosse calls on the city to claim its right of first refusal in order to be able to strike at a cheaper price.

criticism and support for the right of first refusal

The discussion about the right of first refusal has started speed in the past few weeks. t-online Holsten-area led. Instead, the city could implement the property acquisition to the officially determined market value with the right of first refusal and thus avert the risk of repression by private investors. Critics warn that it is precisely the social framework conditions that could fall by the wayside in the discussion about the Holsten area. Affordable living space threatens to be in short supply, while in addition to a new city district, the preservation of historically valuable old buildings should also be preserved.

Here a petition comes into play that is supported by different sides, including the tenant association Hamburg. The initiative "Bangs at the Dollsten" and the Hamburg Monument Association not only see protection against speculation in the exercise of the right of first refusal, but also hope for a future -oriented and environmentally friendly development of the area.

The course set for the future

In the middle of this argument, future urban development is on another paper. The Cities-Day point out that the planned amendment to the building code could give the cities larger scope for action, but there were no important measures to strengthen the right of first refusal. In its coalition agreement, the Federal Government has tried to buy rights in milieu protection, but realities and concrete implementations are not reported. The topic of the right of first refusal could be the key to solving aspiring problems on the real estate market.

"The Holsten area is not just a property. It is about the future of an entire neighborhood," said the concerned voices of the residents and tenant associations. It is clear that the city must now act here to break through the course of speculation and to create a worth living for everyone. If the city does not stop the sale, the fate of this historic area could change dramatically.