Central Business Tower is being built over Frankfurt’s deepest excavation pit

Manche Projekte dauern etwas länger. Für das Hochhaus an der Neuen Mainzer Straße im Frankfurter Bankenviertel hat das Architekturbüro KSP Engel schon 2001 den Wettbewerb gewonnen. 23 Jahre später ist am Mittwochabend der Grundstein gelegt worden für den 205 Meter hohen Büroturm Central Business Tower, dessen Entwurf im Laufe der Jahre nur leicht verändert worden ist.

Gearbeitet wird auf dem Grundstück in prominenter Lage an den Wallanlagen allerdings schon seit 2022. Sonst hätte der Grundstein nicht in die 26 Meter tiefe Baugrube gelegt werden können. Nach Angaben des Bauunternehmens Züblin geht es derzeit auf keiner Baustelle in Frankfurt weiter in die Tiefe. Nötig ist das, weil wegen der beengten Platzverhältnisse im dicht bebauten Bankenviertel die gesamte Erschließung unterirdisch erfolgt. 2028 soll das Hochhaus fertig sein. Die Arbeiten liegen nach Angaben des Bauherrn, der Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba), im Plan.

Mieter gibt es für den Turm noch nicht. Die Stimmung bei der Grundsteinlegung mit 300 Gästen war dennoch gut. Es gab akrobatische Darbietungen, 1500 Luftballons stiegen in den Frankfurter Himmel. „Wir zeigen als Bauherr, dass man auch in herausfordernden Zeiten mit den richtigen Partnern an seiner Seite ein solch hochkarätiges Projekt vorantreiben kann“, sagte Christian Schmid, Vorstandsmitglied der Helaba. Der Central Business Tower verbinde Tradition und Moderne und werde prägend für die Frankfurter Skyline.

Stephan Keinath, board member of the construction company Züblin, spoke of an “outstanding technical achievement”. He pointed out that the use of a climate-friendly concrete developed by Züblin itself reduces CO₂-Emissions would be reduced by 57 percent. “In doing so, we are setting new standards for energy efficiency and sustainable construction.”

According to Mayor Mike Josef (SPD), the Central Business Tower will enrich the skyline as a “new landmark”. It will become a “lively place of exchange and encounter”. With this statement, Josef was referring, among other things, to the branch of the Museum of World Cultures, which is to be housed in the high-rise. It is an “excellent addition” and will further enliven the district with the planned cultural mile. Neue Mainzer Strasse is to become a cultural mile, among other things, through the construction of the new theater on the Sparkasse property south of the Central Business Tower. The city is also negotiating with Helaba about a leasehold for the property. Another high-rise could be built next to it.

The 52 floors of the Central Business Tower, with a total of 72,500 square meters of rental space, will primarily house offices. There will also be restaurants and a café. The complex also includes the five-story base building, which extends to Junghofstrasse. The listed facade will be carefully protected during construction. The rotunda that was previously used as a counter hall in the old building will be integrated into the new building. It has been removed and stored.

Despite the tense situation on the real estate market, the next high-rise projects are already being prepared in Frankfurt: A little further south on Neue Mainzer Strasse, the real estate companies Tishman Speyer and Commerz Real are planning the 195-meter-high Kaiser-Karree. Public participation is currently underway.

And the project developer Groß & Partner, which is completing the mega-project Four with four high-rise buildings in Frankfurt’s city center by the end of 2025, could start with two projects in the train station and Europaviertel – as soon as 30 to 50 percent of the space has been rented. There are interested parties for the converted Union Investment tower on Wiesenhüttenstrasse, which is being marketed under the name “Kaia”, and the new “Nion” building on Europa-Allee, reported managing director Nikolaus Bieber. However, concrete contracts have not yet been concluded.

Neither project is comparable to the high-rise buildings in the banking district, but each has its own advantages. “Kaia” is aimed at tenants for whom a new building is not an option for sustainability reasons. And in “Nion” you get high-quality space in one of the most modern high-rise buildings – but without having to pay the top rent of the typical banking locations.