Das Präsidium in Frankfurt

A high-rise project called Das Präsidium (in English: The Presidency) will be built on the property of the former police headquarters at the Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage street. The plans for the high-rise first appeared in the 1998 high-rise master plan. A high-rise tower with a height of 175 meters (574 feet) was proposed on the approx. 15,000 square meter property of the former police headquarters.

The start of construction for Das Präsidium is to be in 2023, and completion of the entire area is planned for 2026. A total of around 800 million euros are to be invested. The architectural winning design comes from Meixner Schlüter Wendt Architekten. A corresponding architecture competition was held in summer 2020.

The high-rise tower Das Präsidium will have mixed use. A hotel is planned for the lower floors. A restaurant with a sky bar will be set up above it. In the middle section, condominiums, and office space above are to be created. City loggias and a hall are planned for the top of the building. The tower will have a total of 48 upper floors (including ground floor, and the top floor is not used due to its location in the tip of the sloping roof). 

In addition to the high-rise development in a mixed use of offices, apartments and hotel, further office space is to be created in the protected old building of the former police headquarters, as well as apartments in the perimeter block development. The entire site should be accessible to the public. The City of Frankfurt supports the construction of several hundred apartments, schools, daycare centers and social or cultural facilities on the property. However, it is expected that primarily luxury apartments will be built.

Since 2001, the State of Hesse had sought a sale to an investor. A sale became obviously not possible because of too excessive price expectations and a slump in the real estate market. For many years, the police building was vacant and was used only sporadically commercially. There were also disagreements with the City of Frankfurt over the use of the lot.

It was only in 2010 that talks with investors and project developers started again. The sales process was entrusted to the consulting firm BNP Paribas Real Estate Consult, which had previously reviewed the marketing opportunities for the property. In August 2011, the architect Jo. Franzke presented a mass design study for the planned high-rise building with a gross floor area of ​​95,000 square meters (1,022,571 square feet). This preliminary design of Jo. Franzke is listed at the end of the page.

Status November 2022: There is now a webcam online showing the future construction progress.

Status October 2022: Gerchgroup expects the building permit to be issued in the fall of 2023, although demolition of the non-listed existing building could begin before then. The project developer expects the project to be completed at the end of 2026, although the start of marketing of the property has not yet been determined.

Status September 2020: The architectural competition for Das Präsidium was decided. The architectural office Meixner Schlüter Wendt Architekten has been awarded the contract. If the Düsseldorf project developer Gerchgroup had built this high-rise tower in Düsseldorf, it would have been the highest high-rise tower there. The following pictures of the high-rise model Das Präsidium were taken in the atrium of the city planning department when the competition results were presented in an exhibition.

Status July 2020: The St. Matthew’s Church site directly bordering the Präsidium project has been sold to the Becken development company.

Status February 2020: According to Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, Gerchgroup has abandoned the idea of building more than a skyscraper on the site of the former police headquarters. According to Mark Gellert, spokesman for planning director Mike Josef, the City of Frankfurt still believes that a variant is possible in which several lower high-rise buildings can be built. The planning department referred to the planned architecture competition and was in constructive talks with Gerchgroup. The adjacent area of the Matthaeus Community (Matthäusgemeinde) is not part of the urban planning competition for the police headquarters site. At the Matthaeus Community site, the 2008 high-rise master plan proposed the construction of another tall building.

Status September 2019: Gerchgroup is currently preparing an international architectural competition for the 4.2-hectare site at the former police headquarters, which consists of 15 renowned architectural firms which have been invited to propose plans. By the year 2026, at least 400 flats as well as offices and hotels are to be built on the dedicated area at Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage. The working title for the project is currently “Das Präsidium“. The competition is expected to end in August 2020 with the selection of the winning design.

Status January 2019: Mathias Düsterdick, CEO of the Gerchgroup, gave an interview on the high-rise project presented here. Düsterdick said that the City of Frankfurt had not yet reached an agreement with them on how the project would precisely look. A tall skyscraper could be constructed, as originally planned, or the building mass could be split into several high-rise buildings each having a lower height.

Status February 2018: The property was sold by the State of Hesse to Gerchgroup from Düsseldorf. According to the Gerchgroup press release dated March 1, 2018, the purchase price was € 212.5 million. As agreed upon in the contracts, the State of Hesse and Gerchgroup have agreed not to reveal details about the transaction.

The original mass design for the skyscraper at the old police headquarters. This visualization was only a placeholder until the final draft was chosen.