Sustainable construction and medical technology – these are the focus industries to be represented at Economy Park Heidelberg-Leimen. Along the road, further milestones were reached this year: The neighborhood improvement area of the Inter-Municipal Commercial and Industrial Area was officially defined by the Special-Purpose District’s Assembly on November 26, 2024. The Assembly was also informed of the Special-Purpose District’s preparatory investigations and the heating plan. As a next step, a European tender will be launched to find an investor to carry out the improvements.
Framework Plan was already approved in July
On July 22, 2024 the Assembly approved the framework plan for the area spanning almost 100 hectares, describing development potentials and perspectives for future use. Prior to that, the Special-Purpose District had worked on creating the framework plan jointly with six renowned agencies as part of a competitive cooperative planning process. A board of trustees consisting of representatives of the two cities Heidelberg and Leimen as well as external planning experts voted unanimously for the draft of ulrich hartung agency from Bonn.
Former production hall set to be at the heart, new connecting road planned
The listed former production halls of Eternit are a characteristic urban landmark of the area. With its size of about 2.5 hectares, corresponding to nearly four soccer fields, it is an impressive testimony of former industrial culture. Together with the workshops and the employee facilities further north – also designed by Ernst Neufert – it will form the heart of an area shaped by industrial and commercial use, which will characterize the entire surrounding area. The production halls could be home to new innovative concepts, offering smaller commercial units as part of a network within the halls (house-in-house concept).
Plans also include a cross-town artery from the federal state road L 594 to the L 600 on Leimen municipality land, running from east to west. This will create an intersection with the north-south connection leading to the commercial area Rohrbach-Süd, located to the north. The intersection will significantly reduce traffic on the two junctions of Karlsruher Straße. The cross-town artery will be connected to regional roads and will also reduce commercial traffic going through residential areas of Leimen. Apart from providing space for car traffic, the cross-town artery will also incorporate sidewalks and bikeways, and there will be a streetcar line providing a connection to lines running from Heidelberg-Rohrbach to Leimen. This new streetcar line will also allow you to change to the suburban trains running between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, which are set to receive a new stop to that end.
Background: Inter-Municipal Commercial and Industrial Area Heidelberg-Leimen
Located on both sides of the border between Heidelberg and Leimen municipality land, the border region of the Inter-Municipal Commercial and Industrial Area Heidelberg-Leimen is currently under development. This is also where the industrial and commercial area Rohrbach-Süd is bordering on North Leimen’s industrial and commercial area. The inter-municipal commercial and industrial area spans about 99 hectares, or roughly 140 soccer fields, making it the largest inter-municipal commercial area in Baden-Württemberg. Around 44 hectares are located on Heidelberg municipality land, while 55 hectares are on Leimen municipality land, including the former dumpsite Fautenbühl. The project is funded by the Ministerium für Landesentwicklung und Wohnen (Ministry of Regional Development and Housing) with EUR 3.2M as part of its urban development funding plan.
Report: Nina Flosdorff-Stöber, City of Heidelberg