Urban restructuring of a brownfield area
(Lower Saxony)
Photography: Manfred Fuhrich, BBSR im BBR
Owing to its industrial heritage, the city of Hannover is rich in industrial wastelands which are exploited as urban development opportunities. Like the Pelikan site, most of these areas are situated in living urban districts where the infrastructure required for subsequent uses is already available. Many of the sites feature good public transport connections, which often lead to larger green and open spaces located nearby. Most of the revitalization areas currently existing in Hannover have already been catalogued by the Office for the Promotion of Trade and Industry. The Pelikan quarter project was hence integrated in an overarching development strategy for the city. The Pelikan quarter is situated in the northeast of Lower Saxony’s state capital Hannover (pop. 516.000) on a site formerly occupied by the stationery producer Pelikan AG. A number of manufacturing operations had been built along Pobielskistrasse, along with the corresponding residential buildings, at the end of the 19th century. Following the discontinuance of the manufacturing operations on the site in 1989, an area measuring approximately 10 ha became available on the periphery of the town centre in the district of “List” – which is characterized by a great number of late 19th century buildings. Listed historic buildings and modern production halls on the site offered generous spaces for a new use. The change of use of the industrial wasteland opened up new potentials for interior development in the city of Hannover. In the period from 1996 to 1999, the project was funded and evaluated as a model project within the research field “Mixed Use in Urban Planning” (Nutzungsmischung im Städtebau) which is part of the federal research programme “Experimental Housing and Urban Development” (Experimenteller Wohnungs- und Städtebau).
Source: FIRU mbH
The removal of contamination was one of the most important tasks as the revitalization of the Pelikan site was started. The type and extent of the pollution and the remediation costs had been determined via an expert opinion elaborated earlier.
A market analysis investigating economically viable uses for the project had been performed at the same time. Based on this, several masterplans and a concept featuring the use areas employment, housing and leisure were elaborated between 1992 and 1993.
The development of the Pelikan quarter, which is composed of two sections, has made great progress in the meantime. One area measuring approximately 4 ha contains the listed buildings, which are now mostly used by commercial operations. The old production facilities in the other section measuring approximately 6 ha were pulled down and replaced by new buildings for housing and services. To interlock the development with the surrounding structures and provide a contrast to the historic stock, the new constructions were arranged in blocks along a newly created, diagonal main access road, the Günther-Wagner-Allee.
The 162 new residential units created enjoy a high quality location and very good connections to municipal and regional road and transport networks. Features providing a high residential quality include the new apartments’ conceptual orientation towards the green area adjoining to the west at “Tintengraben” or towards the market square within the district, as well as their proximity to the municipal forest “Eilenriede”, which is located south of Podbielskistrasse. Another 100 residential units are to be created on the current wastelands.
There is a high capacity utilization rate in the catering, services and trade industries in the areas today. Particularly the historic buildings are all but taken up completely. The only aspects to be changed in the course of the project were the proportions dedicated to various uses, depending on the demand situation.
Approximately 2.000 jobs have been created in the Pelikan quarter. Large employers include insurance and financial service companies.
A key project was the early integration of a four-star hotel in the listed building stock. Owing to the Pelikan quarter’s good image and favourable location, the hotel is very well know in the exhibition centre town Hannover, despite intensive competition, as well as in the region and beyond. The identification with the area is so strong that the „Pelican“ has been integrated into the Hotel logo: „Arabella Sheraton Pelikan Hotel“.
Overall, the handling of the listed building stock proved to be unproblematic and did not lead to any time delays. The buildings are today viewed as important monuments of the industrial architecture at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. Their preservation represents a significant contribution to the positive image enjoyed by the Pelikan district.
Several problems typical for wasteland recycling had to be dealt with in the course of the project. One of the most important tasks was the elimination of conflicts between the former and the new use which led to delays and higher financial expenditures.
The Pelikan quarter project was introduced as a new Hamburg district and the image of the site was transformed from industrial wasteland to attractive housing and office location under the heading “Living Variety”.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Manufacturing operation is discontinued |
| 1991 | The site is sold |
| 1992 | Market study |
| 1992 – 1993 | master planning |
| 1992 | Initiation of the general development plan procedure |
| from 1994 | Modernization of listed buildings |
| 1995 | First building permit in compliance with article 34 of the Building Code, first construction measures |
| 1996 | Development contract between the council and the owner |
| 1996 – 1999 | Inclusion in the EHUD research field “Mixed Use in Urban Planning” |
| 1997 – 1999 | Completion of the first new office and residential buildings, tenants move in |
Photography: Manfred Fuhrich, BBSR im BBR
Photography: Manfred Fuhrich, BBSR im BBR
Photography: Manfred Fuhrich, BBSR im BBR
The Pelikan quarter project is a good example for the successful revitalization of an inner city wasteland.
A market analysis carried out early on resulted in a continuous development of the mixed use concept (motto "living variety") including the integration of listed building stock of outstanding quality.
Most of all to relieve the financial burden on the municipal budgets, private investors played a decisive role in the wasteland development. The privately managed project leadership was a precondition for the Pelikan quarter's realization.
As a final measure, the image of the industrial site was transformed into that of an attractive inner city residential and office location with the help of a conclusive marketing strategy.
Concerning the remaining inner city fallow land, the council will continue to strive for consistent interior development in future. The revitalization of urban wastelands as an internally coordinated administration strategy has proven its viability over a long period of time and demonstrably been able to prevent “building on green land”.
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 30177 - town: Hannover - street: Günther-Wagner-Allee.
Record inserted on 24.03.2005 by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 13.02.2009
