Forum Gummersbach
The city center is developing
The steam boiler construction company Steinmüller had shaped the town of Gummersbach for over 125 years. But when the company closed in 1999, the town not only lost an important company, but also its centre. The Steinmüller site has been occupying Gummersbach for over ten years; it is one of the largest urban development projects in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. By winning a Europe-wide tender, HBB was awarded the contract to build a shopping centre on a 30.000 m2 large part of the site.
The shopping center is connected to the adjacent inner-city pedestrian zone of Gummersbach via Kampstrasse and a railway underpass to Steinmüllerallee. In order to do justice to the formative history of the old steam boiler factory, the new building was given facades made of clinker bricks and Corten steel.
expansion of inner-city offerings
A total of around 15.000 m2 Sales space and additional service and catering areas were created in a modern shopping center with over 70 shops, which is directly connected to the city's pedestrian zone via Kampstrasse. An expected 400 to 500 jobs are a welcome side effect. In addition, HBB not only built the necessary 600 or so parking spaces for customers and visitors, but also a further 900 parking spaces, which are available for the surrounding business park and the multi-purpose hall, among other things.
This project not only represents a decisive step forward in the important urban development on the 20-hectare Steinmüller site, but the shopping center also contributes to strengthening the entire retail location and medium-sized center of Gummersbach.
The Forum Gummersbach opened in September 2015. The investment volume, including tenant improvements, amounted to around 80 million euros.
