ERFURT_ Starting signal for the development of a new residential area in Saalfeld: On Tuesday, August 1, LEG Managing Director Sabine Wosche and Saalfeld's Mayor Dr. Steffen Kania performed the official groundbreaking ceremony for the "Graba II" area. Over the coming months, LEG will develop 81 building plots for single and two-family homes on the approximately 7.1-hectare site. It is investing a total of around 5.8 million euros in acquisition, planning, and development. The final sales prices for the plots will be calculated during the development process. The marketing of the building plots is being handled by the Real Estate Office of the City of Saalfeld, which, together with LEG, is the owner of the development area.
„The LEG has extensive experience in developing residential land in the Thuringian municipalities“, said Sabine Wosche at the start of development. „We expect a rapid construction at the Saalfeld site despite increased building costs and interest rates – this due to the high location quality, the good infrastructure in the surrounding area and in view of our market and demand analysis, which indicated a strong response to the future offer. We will offer building plots here for young families, but also for builders who want to create their barrier‑free retirement residence, free of developers and brokers.“
The demand for housing in Saalfeld is indeed high, and the property market in the Fairy Grotto City is characterized by the lack of available land. “Today is a significant day. After a long time, with Graba II, we are again developing a large Saalfeld building area for single-family and two-family homes. Creating building land for single-family homes is important to keep young families in the city,” explains Mayor Dr. Steffen Kania, adding: “We are competing with neighboring communities and the Thuringian centers such as Jena, Weimar, and Erfurt for the best minds. That is why we need building plots. Because the fact is that young families want to own their own homes even in the current crisis.”
Overall, LEG will create around 8,800 square meters of roads and bicycle/pedestrian paths as part of the development. For the new residential area, approximately 1,500 meters of pipes for rainwater and wastewater and around 1,900 meters of drinking water pipes will be installed. Additional green spaces, together with many trees, will ensure the area has a natural character in the future. LEG's contractors are the Ingenieurgesellschaft für Wasserwirtschaft, Bauwesen und Umwelttechnik mbH (wbu) and August Dohrmann GmbH, both based in Saalfeld.
Background: On the history of the project
As early as the end of the 1990s, the first construction phase at the Saalfeld-Graba site was started and successfully completed in 2007. In accordance with the goals of the land use plan, the development plan for the 2nd construction phase came into force in October 2020. It was a long road before the excavators could finally roll. First, drainage had to be ensured by expanding the main collector from ZWA Saalfeld-Rudolstadt. In addition, an elaborate planning and land consolidation procedure was required. This involved a new sorting of the area, which was in very small-scale ownership. Last year, archaeologists successfully examined the area, and the ordnance clearance survey was recently completed.
