Offices become Apartments
Converting offices into apartments is not easy. Two current projects in Rödelheim show that it is possible. For over 50 years, bicycles and more recently typewriters have been produced between Niddagaustraße and Alexanderstrasse in Rödelheim. In 1966 the torpedo factory closed and service providers settled there. On the corner of Niddagaustraße and Trümpertstrasse, the Deutsche Bank building association has long been headquartered in a building constructed in the late 1980s.
However, it has never been a classic commercial location – the environment is characterized by life. This will be further improved. Cube Real Estate, the project developer, obtained a building permit to convert the former building society.
2 commercial units and 102 rental apartments will be built with a total area of 5,000 square meters – from student apartments to two-story house concepts. Nearby, on Alexanderstraße, Mercurius Real Estate has already started the conversion of an office building that belonged to Torpedo-Werke. There, 34 apartments were built with a leased area of 2,600 square meters and a day care center named “Alex 61”.
Extension with Modules
The Cube project is called “Nidda.vierzig2” – based on the address Niddagaustraße 42. “The building is very suitable for conversion”, explains Sven Seep, managing director of Cube Real Estate Mitte. As the concrete structure is largely maintained, construction costs are saved even compared to a new building. However, the energy efficiency standard of 55 KfW is met.
The building will be extended with prefabricated wood and steel elements to gain additional space. There is even a skyline view from the upper floors. Despite the addition, the house would only be 45 cm high compared to the existing building, as there is no gabled roof. A photovoltaic system was installed on the new roof.
Seb says that a very different show is being planned. There will be apartments from 20 to 40 square meters, some of them furnished, in addition to spacious apartments with five bedrooms. Townhouse-style apartments with 140 square meters of living space and a small garden are planned on Trümpertstrasse. The upper floors can be accessed barrier-free by elevator. According to Seipp, rents must be within the usual rent index levels for new buildings in Rödelheim. That’s about 15 euros per square meter.
Both conversion projects, which were announced for completion in 2024, are being planned by the same architecture firm: B&V Architekten from Frankfurt.
