For months, a lot has been happening on the former Deutsche Bank site in Frankfurt's city centre. But only now can nails with heads be made. Last week, the head of the planning department, Mike Josef, handed over the building permit for the four high-rise towers of the large-scale FOUR project to the Groß & Partner managing directors Jürgen Groß and Jens Hausmann. A small act with a big effect: by granting the building permit, one of the most complex projects ever managed by the Frankfurt project developer and ever approved by the city can now actually be implemented.
The FOUR project is complex simply because a plot of land is being developed on the site that is completely surrounded by buildings and road layouts, some of which are high, so that the buildable space is very limited. This also poses challenges for the construction site logistics, but the effort is worthwhile: "The skyline is strikingly enriched by this ensemble. This will not only change the view of Frankfurt, but also life in the center of Frankfurt," Jürgen Groß is convinced. It is therefore safe to assume that even more camera lenses will be pointed in the direction of the skyline once the ensemble is completed.
For Planning Director Josef, the FOUR project means above all a change in the banking district: "FOUR will make the district more mixed. For the first time, a high-rise family is being created in Frankfurt, consisting of four high-rises around a common, public centre. It will be a neighborhood for all income levels, with a great mix of uses and more quality of stay" - an approach that the city has already been pursuing in Frankfurt's banking district for some time.
"The goal of the FOUR project is to reopen the inner-city area, which has been closed off for decades, and make it accessible to the people of Frankfurt," adds Hausmann. He adds that the construction of four towers will allow for a diverse mix of uses, combining living, working and living in one place. "A project like this is not created in isolation at the drawing boards of project developers, but as the result of close cooperation with representatives of the city of Frankfurt," emphasizes Groß.
The head of the planning department agrees: "We work closely together in a spirit of trust and know each other as reliable partners." Ben van Berkel, founder and lead architect of UNStudio, which designed the four high-rise towers, also praises the cooperation between the city and the developer: "We are delighted with this news. FOUR is being built first and foremost for the people of Frankfurt. With a development concept that is unique in Europe, it will not only enrich the city's skyline, but also increase the vibrancy of the entire city."
But for Mike Josef, FOUR is also a personal project because, "It was the first planning project for which I sat on the jury - and now I can hand over the building permit. That's really something special. Even during the Corona period, the building inspector completed the permitting process without delay."
It will be interesting to see if FOUR will really enhance downtown and how the promised "mix of uses" will affect life downtown.
