Landmarken Acquires Hospital Site for Residential Development

The hospital, which was built starting in 1912 and continuously expanded, developed into a major center for women’s, children’s, and adolescent medicine in South Baden. After the Vincentian Sisters transferred hospital operations to the Lörrach District Clinics in 2018, the hospital will move into the new Central Clinic in 2027, along with the Lörrach District Clinics and the hospital in Schopfheim.

“This place has a special history,” says Christine Rumpf, head of Landmarken’s Rhein-Main branch. “Many residents of Lörrach were born here or have personal memories of the sisters associated with the hospital. We want to honor that with a development that fits the location and has a positive social impact.” In North Rhine-Westphalia, Landmarken has already completed several residential neighborhoods and is developing more—both in existing buildings and new construction. Through its sister companies in the Landmarken Group—POHA House as a co-living operator and Stadtmarken as a property manager—as well as investments such as its stake in the senior living provider Lively, the company possesses expertise not only in development but also in operations.

In the Lörrach region, near the Basel economic area, there is strong cross-border demand for housing catering to diverse target groups, Christine Rumpf continued. And creating housing and community offerings for people of all generations in such a central location fits perfectly with Landmarken’s DNA: “We can preserve a beautiful existing portfolio here, carefully complement it with attractive new buildings, and design this location—which is so important to the city—in a way that continues to create social value in the future.”

In doing so, Landmarken meets precisely the criteria that were also important to the Order—namely, to find a “reuse for St. Elisabethen Hospital that is compatible with the Order’s mission and at the same time meets the city’s goals regarding urban development at this special location,” says Mother Superior Sister Gertrudis Ruf. Early on, the Order and the city jointly developed criteria for socially responsible, community-building housing with specific offerings for young and old, which formed the basis for the sale considerations. According to the Mother Superior, Landmarken AG’s reuse concept was the most compelling, leading to the development of an urban planning concept through joint workshops involving the city, Landmarken, and the Freiburg-based firm Sacker Architekten.

A basic urban planning agreement will now be drafted in collaboration with the city of Lörrach by fall, on the basis of which planning permission can subsequently be obtained. The goal is to reach a resolution on the zoning ordinance by the end of 2028. An urban neighborhood with more than 300 residential units could then be created. A good third of these could be built in existing buildings that are transformed for their new use. The areas primarily designated for this purpose are those that currently house patient beds, including the hospital’s historic main building with its colonnaded entrance facing the inner courtyard. The parking lot, as well as buildings that are not—or are no longer—suitable for residential use—including the former nurses’ dormitory and the functional building housing the operating rooms—will make way for new structures. Underground parking garages for bicycles and cars are planned beneath the new buildings.

To create affordable rental housing for families, students, apprentices, and seniors, a significant portion of the residential space will be publicly subsidized. Public access through the hospital grounds will be preserved. In addition to the daycare center, Landmarken AG plans to add a public playground, a café in the courtyard, and additional green spaces. Medical and therapy practices are also possible as additional uses. The transaction was brokered by Sprenker & Röder Immobilien in collaboration with MSI Gewerbeimmobilien.

With this first residential project in Baden-Württemberg, Landmarken now has a total of approximately 330,000 square meters of gross floor area in residential developments in the pipeline.