Cureus and Ditting plan Wycker Höfe in Kiel – generational quarter with up to 1,000 apartments

Nikolaus Ditting, managing partner of his traditional company of the same name, praises the result of the constructive cooperation of all those involved: "After a long period of preparation, we have now created a great neighbourhood concept for the Wycker Höfe together with the administration and politicians. With our project partner Cureus, we will build a new home for people of all generations with very different needs. We are pleased that it can now start soon."

The multi-generational Wycker Höfe quarter, for which the first plans were made in 2018 and for which the development plan was adopted at the beginning of 2026, is being built with a courtyard character in nine individual areas. It is not only intended to connect a diverse residents. In the future, the quality of the Wycker Höfe will be characterised above all by the commitment of the development partners to ecological and social sustainability:

30 percent of the floor area of classic rental housing is to be publicly subsidized and thus allocated at a particularly low price. All buildings are planned with ambitious KfW standards. The heat supply is primarily provided by district heating, which is supplemented by renewable energy sources if required. Photovoltaic systems are planned and green roofs also promote a pleasant microclimate at the site.

The main development is via the Torfmoorkamp at the level of the supermarket and via Steenbeker Weg at Bremerskamp as a circumferential road with sidewalks and parking spaces. The mobility concept of the Wycker Höfe envisages relocating the stationary traffic from bicycles and motor vehicles largely underground. Offers for e-mobility and car sharing as well as a connection to the Kiel bicycle route network are being considered. Of the planned car parking spaces, the majority will be accommodated in underground car parks, while only a small number of parking spaces will be created on public road land. This enables an above-ground design that focuses on people: the outdoor areas are used as high-quality green spaces and protected, private open spaces and play areas are created in the community courtyards.

For young families, the city of Kiel is building a three-class daycare center in the north of the area, the costs of which will be shared by the project partners Cureus and Ditting.

A central neighbourhood square for encounters and markets as well as the surrounding green corridors serve as places of encounter and local recreation. With the aim of encroaching as carefully as possible, species protection was ensured in coordination with the nature conservation authorities. While the biotope in the south will be preserved, a fruit tree meadow and a small body of water were already created in 2024. A noise barrier will be erected along the B76.

This means that the Wycker Höfe in the immediate vicinity of Kiel University and the Lubinus Clinics will remain attractive across generations in the long term and offer the comfort of contemporary living.

The development work is expected to run from autumn 2026 to spring 2027, and building construction for the first construction phases can then start in the course of next year, so that the first completions are possible in 2029.

In the north of the site, Cureus is starting construction of the five-storey senior citizens' residence on courtyard 1 (WA9) according to the concept of the system care property. This will include inpatient care and supplementary services as well as a restaurant with fresh cuisine for the residents. A well-known operator from Cureus' partner network will take over the care of the seniors.

In the course of the project, construction will then start for courtyards 6 (WA3) and 7 (WA2), each with a five-storey, L-shaped building and an additional three-storey point building. Serviced residential units or assisted living for the elderly are planned in the courtyards. Barrier-free 1.5- and 2-room apartments for one- and two-person households are to be built. Each apartment will have its own shower room as well as a kitchenette. Supplementary services are offered by the operator of the senior citizens' residence. The residents of the service apartments can use the service facilities there later. The buildings have an underground car park.

Subsequently, courtyard 5 (WA4) and courtyard 8 (WA1) are to be built largely in parallel. Hof 5 (WA4) is located south-east on the site of the multi-generational Wycker Höfe quarter and also consists of an L-shaped building with five full storeys and a four-storey point building. Student apartments are planned here. The apartment sizes are mostly 1.5 to 2 rooms for occupancy by one person. A small number of 3-room apartments for two-person shared flats are also to be built. All apartments have an en-suite shower room as well as a kitchenette. Appropriately equipped common rooms will also be available for students.

Subsidized rental apartments are planned in Hof 8 (WA1) in the west of the extensive area. A balanced mix of apartment sizes between 2 and 4 rooms is to be realized. The U-shaped building will have five floors and an underground car park.

Ditting will build two to three apartment buildings with a total of around 350 apartments and a total living space of around 22,250 square metres on each of the other four construction sites. In this part of the new quarter, too, 30 percent of the residential floor area is to be rented out with public funding after completion. In addition, two commercial units for shops for local supply are being developed.

On the street side, the planned apartment buildings will be built in a four-storey construction with a staggered storey, while the building height will be reduced by a full storey towards the courtyard. 1.5 to 5-room apartments are planned for a broad target group from singles to couples to families. The apartments will be equipped with bathrooms, kitchens and balconies or terraces.

Ditting plans to submit the building application in the fourth quarter of this year. Depending on the granting of the building permit, construction could start in the second half of 2027. The realisation is to be implemented in stages, with the first occupancy of the new apartments then probably possible at the end of 2029.

E&P Evers Stadtplanungsgesellschaft is supporting the urban development as part of the land-use procedure. The winning design of the urban planning and open space planning competition was developed by the offices of SKAI Siemer Kramer Architekten Ingenieure and MERA Landschaftsarchitekten. The property planning, including design, approval and implementation planning, is being carried out by Schenk Fleischhaker for Ditting and plan- & bauwerk Winsen/Aller for Cureus.