In northern Essen, the intercommunal urban development project Freiheit Emscher is launching the marketing of plot GE7. The site is located on the Emil Emscher conversion area in the Vogelheim district and covers a plot size of 42,298 square metres. With this offer, the vendor, Freiheit Emscher Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (FEEG), is primarily targeting knowledge-based businesses and innovative manufacturing companies whose operational concepts combine economic viability with sustainability criteria.
Plot GE7 represents the third of seven construction phases across the roughly 19-hectare development area. For the allocation, FEEG is utilising a single-stage, accelerated investor selection process, with a submission deadline set for 30 November 2026. The structured selection model aims for swift execution, evaluating submitted proposals against quantitative and qualitative parameters.
Qualitative award criteria and accelerated procedures
According to FEEG Managing Director Gernot Pahlen, the chosen single-stage procedure minimises the administrative burden for participating bidders and facilitates rapid decision-making pathways between bid submission and the final award. Compliance with urban planning and environmental standards is governed by a mandatory climate neutrality framework and an overarching design manual, which establish the benchmark for all submitted usage concepts.
The release of this sub-plot takes place against the backdrop of a marked shortage of available land across the regional economy. Although more than every second new job in the Ruhr region was recently created on industrial and commercial land, the supply of unencumbered, immediately available plots is tightening significantly. According to calculations by Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH, the current reserve of commercially active land is only sufficient to satisfy demand for approximately two years.
Infrastructure and development by the end of 2028
To facilitate site preparation, the project secured grant funding of more than 30 million euros from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Union at the beginning of the current year. These funds will be directed into the internal infrastructure development of the site, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2028, coinciding with the planned handover of plot GE7 to its future occupiers.
- —Plot size: 42,298 square metres (plot GE7)
- —Total Emil Emscher site: approximately 19 hectares across seven plots
- —Infrastructure budget: Over 30 million euros from the Just Transition Fund
- —Climate resilience: Open space design based on the sponge city principle to counter heat and heavy rainfall
