Saarland’s residential property company WOGE Saar held a traditional groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on two apartment buildings containing a total of 40 residential units on Metzer Straße, Alt-Saarbrücken.
The groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction work on two apartment buildings at Metzer Straße 58-60 was held on 15 July. WOGE Saar is building two identical residences, due to be ready for occupancy in early 2028, on the former Reis Messebau Design GmbH site.
Each building has 20 accessible residential units, which are combination of tw0-room and three-room apartments including kitchen and bathroom, ranging from 53 m2 to 79 m2 in size. This is paired with accessible elevators, sufficient parking and bicycle stands, and suitably high-quality outdoor facilities.
The construction project is being funded by the Saarländische Investitionskreditbank (SIKB), state and federal funds, and the ‘Saarland housing assistance, rental housing’ programme. It is being implemented as publicly subsidised housing. The total investment – including land purchase, demolition of the previous buildings, and ancillary building costs – is 10.8 million euros. QBUS GmbH & Co. KG, Saarbrücken will ensure turnkey planning and construction of the building.
Secretary of State for Construction Torsten Lang, Chairman of the Board of WOGE Saar: ‘With this construction project, WOGE Saar is continuing its consistent commitment to creating affordable modern housing where it is most needed. The 40 new apartments combine high quality of living, accessibility and sustainable construction. As a state-owned housing association, we are taking responsibility for ensuring a sustainable supply of housing in Saarland and making targeted investments in developing our towns and cities.’
Mirco Bertucci, CEO of WOGE Saar: ‘The apartment buildings represent another part of WOGE’s strategy to create more living space in urban areas – exactly where it is urgently needed. These modern, well-equipped buildings are helping to revitalise and enhance the area and provide people of all ages – whether single, couples or young families – with a central, accessible and affordable place to live.’
Peter-Jan Funk, CEO of QBUS GmbH & Co. KG: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with WOGE to implement this project in the field of subsidised housing. We developed and planned the project together in close collaboration. The state capital is now gaining a new district with attractive housing that is urgently needed, rent controlled, energy efficient and built to environmentally friendly standards.’
The buildings will use a hybrid timber construction. Floors, staircase cores and supports will be of precast concrete skeleton construction, whilst the outer walls will consist of prefabricated façade components that use a timber panel construction. The roof area will be extensively planted and house a photovoltaic system. Heating will be provided by heat pumps. The building will comply with all of the requirements of the Building Energy Act. Work to demolish the existing buildings began in May, meaning that the site is now ready for construction of the apartment buildings to begin.
