In some media, amongst others on NDR, there have been reports on Hamburg’s planned refugee accommodation and purchase prices in Frankonia Eurobau’s Sophienterrassen. Some statements in the reports are however inaccurate or imprecise. Frankonia Eurobau would like to explain and clarify the facts with the following statement:

On several occasions the impression has been given that the planned refugee camp lies within the grounds or directly adjacent to Frankonia Eurobau’s Sophienterrassen development. That is not correct. The refugee accommodation has nothing to do with Sophienterrassen. This is planned to be housed in the former Harvestehude district recruiting office, which is located on the street of the same name, 1a Sophienterrasse, on the corner of Mittelweg.

The City of Hamburg is perfectly entitled to set up a refugee accommodation in Harvestehude. The people who will be located here are families, mainly from Syria, who are in distress and need our help. It can only be of benefit to these refugees if they are housed in a functioning social environment, such as Harvestehude. We are convinced that the refugees will be well accepted by the residents of the neighbourhood. This belief is based on our experience in similar situations. For example, in Munich, Frankonia built Lenbach Gärten, an exclusive development with the most expensive apartments in Munich and a five-star hotel – comparable in size and quality to Hamburg’s Sophienterrassen. Directly opposite the Munich development there is a Benedictine monastery with a soup kitchen. There has never been a single complaint from residents of Lenbach Gärten. Even the repeatedly cited loss of value for the properties is false. Purchasers of apartments in Lenbach Gärten have benefited from enormous increases in value, of up to 100 percent. In Sophienterrassen, we also expect a sustained increase in value for the new properties there.

In addition, it has been claimed that in Sophienpalais a purchase price of €18,000 per square meter will be charged. This is also not correct. Frankonia Eurobau’s Sophienterrassen development consists of three major construction projects, the Alster Villas, the townhouses and Sophienpalais. The purchase prices for the townhouses start at around €7,000, of which 95 percent have already been sold. The apartments in Sophienpalais are also sold at €7,000 euros per square meter, here 50 percent have already been booked. The purchase prices for the Alster Villas are higher, as they are located directly on the Alster and offer unobstructed views of the lake. The Alster Villas house a total of 35 apartments, some of them penthouses. This is the only part of the development where a purchase price of up to €18,000 euros per square meter is possible.

9 May 2014