Residential of the future in European metropolises
The trend toward urbanization in Europe continues unabated. Already today, more than three quarters of people in the EU live in cities. Attractive and affordable housing is in particularly short supply in metropolitan regions. In Germany alone, a sharp increase in the population is currently being met by a drastic slump in new housing construction, especially in the cities.
The result is a steadily growing gap in new construction, the size of which the German Property Federation (ZIA) recently estimated at up to 400,000 housing units in the current year and as many as 750,000 units in 2025.
For the real estate industry, the current situation with high inflation, rising interest rates and sharp increases in prices for materials, construction services and energy is very challenging and characterized by uncertainty. It is precisely in such dynamic times that forward-looking entrepreneurial action, financial strength and long-term investments with a view to the future are needed.
Modern and demand-oriented housing in metropolitan regions
Not only are interest rates, inflation and construction costs rising - the demands on the housing market in terms of energy and sustainability aspects are also steadily increasing, as are the requirements for the functionality of neighborhoods with shared spaces, green areas close to nature and traffic-calmed zones.
In this complex framework, which is changing residential life in European metropolises in a sustainable way, ECE Work & Live develops tailor-made concepts and realizes efficient, flexible and ecologically compatible residential solutions in all areas throughout Europe - from subsidized rental apartments to owner-occupied apartments. Efficiently designed residential space adapted to the user's needs enables compact living without loss of comfort.
Sustainable residential with user-oriented real estate projects.
In times when others are pulling out, ECE Work & Live realizes sustainable and user-oriented real estate projects with an investment volume in the billions. One example is the new TIDE building ensemble in Hamburg's HafenCity. The mixed-use ensemble between the Elbe River and Baakenhafen harbor comprises several buildings with around 600 high-quality rental and owner-occupied apartments.
Other building blocks include a student dormitory with affordable housing for around 370 students and Apprentices, and the UBS Digital Art Museum as a cultural and tourist highlight.
The TIDE offers, among other things, a direct public transport connection via subway and local train as well as e-charging stations for cars and bicycles. Through the implementation of high energy standards, the use of renewable energies, a CO₂-reduced construction method and the use of recyclable components, TIDE meets the sustainability standards of the platinum HafenCity Ecolabel.
Residential of the future: New residential quarter in Rome.
ECE Work & Live is planning another major residential project in a European metropolis in Rome. In the west of the Italian capital, a new quarter in a park-like location with six buildings and around 160 modernly designed condominiums is to be built in a joint venture together with two local partners.
The new residential quarter is characterized by good connections to public transportation. Schools, university and stores for daily needs are in the immediate vicinity. A residents' lounge, a co-working area and a gym, as well as outdoor areas with green spaces and play facilities for children, plus a swimming pool and private fitness areas, make the site much more than a residential project.
Also in ECE's focus is Poland, where ECE is currently examining another large residential development in the capital Warsaw.
Build-to-Rent: A new form of residential for rent
Build-to-Rent represents a new form of residential for rent. These are rented apartments designed from the user's point of view - compact and efficiently designed and additionally fitted out with attractive communal areas such as co-working spaces, tenant lounges and a gym. The offer is tailored to the target group of "young and urban professionals" - people with flexible lifestyles and working practices who are looking for apartments in urban and well-connected locations in major European cities.
Build-to-Rent with ECE Living
ECE Living actively picks up on this trend. The focus of its investments is on new residential quarters in attractive locations in European cities. For example, ECE Living 2022 has launched the "ECE Better Living Europe Fund", which actively responds to social change processes and changing needs by specializing in contemporary, tenant-oriented residential offerings in European growth metropolises.
Find out more about the cities of the future at ECE!
Real estate investments in Europe's growth metropolisesESG Housing Code focuses on public welfare and sustainability
Investments are only made in demographically and economically high-growth European metropolitan regions that have been identified as part of a profound analysis based on the ECE Smart Cities model. Especially in these metropolises, residential is and will remain expensive for the foreseeable future, so that an efficiently designed residential product can offer tenants an attractive rental option.
Immediately after the fund's launch, three properties were acquired in central locations in Manchester, Leeds and Copenhagen, with a combined total of nearly 1,100 apartments. Purchases in Germany and Poland are planned next. The focus is also on Southern Europe. There, the dynamically growing metropolises in Spain and Italy offer attractive market opportunities.
In all its European developments, ECE acts as a reliable partner in the market, for individual projects as well as in cooperation with cities and municipalities. The focus is not on the quick marketing of space, but equally on social aspects and questions of urban development.
Our actions are based on a code of values: the ESG Housing Code. It is a voluntary commitment to the sustainable development and realization of residential properties - from an ecological, social and entrepreneurial perspective. Likewise, the company only purchases residential properties that meet its own ESG requirements. All sustainable actions focus on the common good and the revitalization of cities and communities.
Thus, ECE creates sustainable living space for all population groups and diverse forms of use in European metropolises - fully in line with the "New Leipzig Charter" adopted by the European urban development ministers in 2020.
ECE EDITORIAL TEAM
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