Landmarken AG has acquired the St. Elisabethen Hospital site in Lörrach, including existing buildings, for a comprehensive district development. The seller of the property, which includes a car park and the former child and adolescent psychiatry clinic, is the Order of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul in Freiburg. On a total area of 21,450 square metres, the creation of housing is planned both in existing buildings and in new constructions. The project also includes the establishment of a nursery and other local community infrastructures.
This project represents Landmarken AG's first residential development venture in Baden-Württemberg. This acquisition increases the company's development volume in the residential sector to approximately 330,000 square metres of gross floor area. Built from 1912 onwards, the hospital developed over decades into a significant centre for women's, children's and adolescent medicine in Southern Baden. Hospital operations were already transferred by the Vincentian Sisters to the Lörrach district clinics in 2018 and are scheduled to move with the Lörrach district clinics and the Schopfheim hospital into a new central clinic in 2027.
Christine Rumpf, head of Landmarken's Rhine-Main branch, emphasised the historical relevance of the location and the intention to create a development that does justice to this place and generates social impact. Landmarken AG has experience in the development and realisation of residential districts in North Rhine-Westphalia. Through associated companies such as POHA House, a co-living operator, and Stadtmarken as a property manager, as well as stakes in senior living providers like Lively, comprehensive expertise exists for both the development and subsequent operation of the properties.
In the Lörrach region, near the Basel economic area, high cross-border demand for housing for various target groups is identified. The concept of creating housing and community services for all generations in a central location aligns with Landmarken AG's corporate philosophy. Superior General Sister Gertrudis Ruf stated that a "religious order-compatible subsequent use" was crucial for the Order, which corresponds to the urban development goals of the city of Lörrach. Criteria for a socially acceptable and community-promoting housing concept were developed early on in cooperation with the city.
Landmarken AG's subsequent use concept was convincing, leading to the development of an urban planning concept in workshops with the city of Lörrach, Landmarken and the architectural firm Sacker Architekten from Freiburg. The goal is to draw up an urban development master agreement with the city of Lörrach by autumn, in order to then create the planning law. The statutory resolution is expected by the end of 2028, to realise an urban district with over 300 residential units.
A significant proportion of the residential units, about one third, are to be created in existing buildings, which will be transformed for the new use. These include parts with former patient beds, particularly the historic main hospital building with its column-adorned courtyard portal. Areas not suitable for residential use, such as the car park or the former nurses' home, will make way for new buildings. Underground car parks beneath the new buildings are planned for bicycles and cars. A relevant proportion of the rental flats will be publicly subsidised to create affordable housing for families, students, apprentices and seniors.
Public access through the site will be maintained. In addition to the nursery, Landmarken AG plans a public children's playground, a café in the inner courtyard and additional greening measures. Further uses such as medical or therapy practices are also planned. The transaction was brokered by Sprenker & Röder Immobilien in cooperation with MSI Gewerbeimmobilien.
