"Creating social added value is our goal"

Landmarken AG sees project development as a contribution to urban development. Can you explain that in more detail?

We don't see ourselves as a company that develops solitary projects, but rather as a "partner to cities." And this hasn't just been the case since today, but for many years now. Through this early focus on local people and the various players in urban development, we automatically learned—as anyone who deals with their target group does—that we should fulfill criteria in our projects that go beyond high-quality design, tenant satisfaction, and high returns. And that's what we wanted!

In what way?

We have focused on a broader target group than "just" users and buyers. If you do this consistently, you very quickly achieve a good balance between architecture, urban planning, and quality of life in the building, but also around the building. We very quickly decided that our buildings must radiate positive vibes.

What does that mean?

It is not enough to simply add a building block to the city that makes us and its users happy. Ideally, further developments will follow that enhance the street and its surroundings. This is the case at Theaterplatz in Aachen, where the momentum generated by our project has led to numerous new developments, including the redesign of the entire square. The city is now tackling this with the aim of significantly improving the quality of the space and creating room for strolling and lingering.

You mean the ensemble of bank, hotel, restaurants, and boarding house that has been built there, where previously mostly empty post-war buildings in poor condition dominated the landscape.

Yes. We want our projects to become an important part of urban development. We want to act as a catalyst, as a sparring partner for cities, and as an important player that supports local authorities in achieving their urban development goals. That is what we have defined as the social contribution we want to make as a company. If we consistently focus on this target group, we are already on the right track.

What other aspects are important for achieving social added value?

In addition, there are the sustainability aspects, which we have also championed from an early stage. This is not just about certifications, which we naturally strive for consistently. It is also about intensively examining how to save energy, which materials make sense, how to create a healthy environment, how and where to create as much green space as possible – we have pushed all these issues forward and anchored them firmly in our corporate philosophy at a relatively early stage. This defined our landmark character early on.

There are projects in the landmark family in Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Frankfurt. Nevertheless, the character you are talking about is particularly evident in the so-called B and C cities. Why is that?

We actively engaged in dialogue with stakeholders in the target group of cities and quickly realized that the A cities had less need for this. With cities such as Wuppertal, Bochum, and Dortmund, on the other hand, the quality of the exchange was completely different. They knew exactly where their challenges lay. Some of the stakeholders there are very lively and active, but they are also happy about any exchange with partners in urban development who can help them achieve their goals.

As project developers from Aachen, we naturally also know how things work in B and C cities. So this has turned out to be one of our key areas of focus. What's more, we feel very welcome in these cities and have the feeling that we can make a real difference.

You just mentioned Aachen. Can you give some examples from there?

Let's take the"Guter Freund" residential quarter or the"Digital Church" as outstanding examples, both of which were realized with the Hermanns family of entrepreneurs, who retain ownership of the properties: Here, we had good conditions for developing the respective location in a meaningful way and creating added value. On the one hand, there is the neighborhood with a daycare center, senior day care, and numerous community offerings, with 70 percent of the apartments subsidized. On the other hand, there is the decommissioned church, which has been repurposed as an incubator for young start-ups and an event venue, and is a popular meeting place that has a positive impact on the entire neighborhoodand deconsecrated church, which is a popular meeting place as an incubator for young start-ups and an event venue, radiating throughout the entire neighborhood. In Cologne, a real estate mogul might have snatched it away from us in the end and built luxury apartments there. Local expertise certainly helped us with the Theaterplatz mentioned above.

But that's not so common in other cities, is it?

That depends. In A cities, the market is largely transparent. All the data and figures are available, there are professional market participants, and the local authorities are used to carrying out large-scale projects. In B and C cities, where the market is not as transparent, it is much more important to familiarize yourself with the local conditions and players and to develop a concept based on the specific location. That is an effort we are happy to take on.

And one that has shaped Landmarken?

It has certainly had an impact. It is relatively easy to build what the capital market likes. It is quite another thing to make sure that you are doing exactly the right thing for the location in question. It is about filtering out the "spiritus loci," the spirit of the place, in order to develop an important urban building block, and that is what we have always done. Then, we assume, it will also be financially viable and there will be a buyer. Above all, however, the high level of acceptance will create lasting value. This assumption has never let us down.

At the former Opel plant in Bochum, we were among the first to take the initiative. The O-Werk | Campus, which we are developing there, is an innovation quarter that is already very successful and has attracted attention far beyond the borders of the Ruhr region. We were new to Münster when we were able to close an urban planning wound at the train station with the Hansator. In Wuppertal, the office and commercial building on the Wall, our first development of a former department store, was an important building block in the development of the city center.

What unites these and other cities is that it did not stop at just one project.

We went to many B and C cities with the intention of not just developing a single project and then moving on. We went there "to stay." The goal was always to tackle a second and third project whenever possible and to pursue urban development with a high degree of professionalism. This approach of a project developer to get involved in a location in this way did not exist at the time. In Bonn, my hometown, we now have four projects, and in Dortmund and Leverkusen, too, we are not stopping at just one.

Is that why Landmarken likes to participate in investor and architect selection processes organized by local authorities?

We have always been keen to participate in such urban competitions at a very early stage. This also fits in with our role as a "partner to cities." We enjoy competing with other competitors in fair procedures. Our secret recipe is to always exceed the requirements, i.e., the obligations. We also have a bonus. That's what makes Landmarken special, and it's also a lot of fun. It's also one of the reasons why we win so many awards and our projects are repeatedly recognized.

How do you actually find the "spirit of the place" and how do you develop "from the place"?

In order to create places that foster identity and have a lasting impact, you have to get the local people on board, which means identifying their concerns and wishes. The best way to achieve impact-oriented action is through open dialogue. For us, stakeholder participation is not a tedious chore, but a factor for success. When developing neighborhoods in particular, it is important to us to connect all stakeholders and promote dialogue in order to avoid conflicting goals and develop solutions and ideas during the process that can ultimately be implemented economically. That is why we encourage our project managers to incorporate participatory formats into their project development processes as early as possible. To this end, we have developed our wan·del·bar, which can be set up as a mobile meeting place at various development sites and used as a platform for dialogue to engage with people at an early stage.

You mention the development process. How can social impact be ensured even after completion?

A property or neighborhood will shape and influence the cityscape for 50, 70, or 100 years. So we have to make sure that not only the exterior of the building has an identity-forming effect, but also the mix of uses in operation. And that is really a USP that defines landmarks: designing and managing a project in such a way that it has a lasting impact on the neighborhood. We do this with the concepts of the neighborhood development unit of Sebastiaan Gerards and his team, but also, for example, with the service point for users in the O-Werk | Campus through our partner Stadtmarken Business, or in the residential neighborhood "Guter Freund," where the management team takes care of everything from tenant concerns to homework supervision, and a caretaker cast for this task is the heart and soul of the place. This is the appealing aspect of our Landmarken promise that even when we part ways with a project, we still want to remain responsible for the smooth operation of the building or neighborhood.

After many good years, however, the economic conditions have now deteriorated.

Yes, our projects are also struggling with this. Our advantage is that, as a family business with good reserves, we have always taken care to finance our projects in the traditional way with equity capital and first-rank land charges. This means that we are not as exposed to the general pressure that our competitors are feeling. In addition, we focus solidly on neighborhood development and are active in markets where debt servicing capacity is easier to achieve.

How exactly will you ensure that future projects also create social added value?

Our project managers must not only achieve economic goals with their projects, but also demonstrate how these projects fulfill our other objectives. To do this, they must answer three questions: What does your project do for society? What does your project do for the planet? What does your project do for landmarks? We have set out to prove that it is possible to be very successful economically with this triad.

What are the three questions about?

The first question is about social impact, community, identity building, quality of life, local supply, and simply everything that increases the satisfaction of local people and improves their living conditions. The second revolves around topics such as resource conservation, energy efficiency, planting, green outdoor space planning, and species protection. When it comes to what a project does for Landmarken AG, it's not just about profitability, but also about innovation and further development. This includes, for example, trying things out and gaining experience that other projects can benefit from. This must be demonstrated in the balance scorecard.

Please explain what the balance scorecard is.

At the beginning of each project development, a concept is drawn up, which then forms part of a quarterly report. We use the balance scorecard to visualize the strategic goals and key figures of each project. It helps project managers to maintain an overview, to continually address the issues and to check whether they are still on the right track. If there is a deviation from this, it must be justified and adjustments may need to be made. This way, we don't run the risk of starting with a nice concept but losing a lot at the end of the day.

You yourself have been shaping the philosophy at Landmarken for 17 years now. What is your personal motivation, what drives you?

I studied architecture and decided that I wanted to implement aesthetic and well-thought-out building and urban concepts. This summer, I was in France with my family and showed our children the works of architect and urban planner Le Corbusier, who devised concepts in the 1950s that have enjoyed widespread acceptance for decades—even today! That kind of thing fascinates me.

At the same time, I am interested in how to finance good concepts and how to implement them in locations that pose greater challenges than, for example, the center of an A-city. Ultimately, however, the goal is always to create something that you can simply be proud of in the end. Something that gets good feedback.

This is particularly important in the cities where you live.

We are now – and this is what distinguishes a local project developer – very active in our own city and are contributing to the urban development of Aachen. It is a great pleasure to see in your everyday life that it is good and to receive more recognition than criticism from your friends and acquaintances. That is my personal motivation as an architect.

What role does the fact that Landmarken is a family business play?

I believe that we have a very good environment because there is such a high level of motivation within the entrepreneurial family. This is a great source of support and gives us the momentum to continue on this path. The entrepreneurial family includes, for example, the "Gute Freund" in Aachen, the Digital Church, the Gesundheitshaus Dortmund, and the O-Werk, the former Opel administration building, which is now the anchor point of our campus development in Bochum. These could only develop in this way because the entrepreneurial family, because the entrepreneur Norbert Hermanns, saw the opportunity in these locations. The family is one reason why we were able to pursue ESG issues very early on, when the term ESG did not even exist yet.

Is this also noticeable in the industry?

We are glad that there are more and more companies that have a similar intrinsic motivation to ours and are creating really good neighborhoods. I notice that those who are driving such issues forward with us are very often owner-managed companies. The family businesses in the industry, which include us, are, in my opinion, pioneers in the areas of ecology, social impact, and good corporate governance in the industry.

Keyword "good corporate governance." What does the "G" in "ESG" mean to you?

It sounds trite, but working with us should feel good. We want to be the most personable project developer. Good communication in urban development takes place at eye level. It is forward-looking, constructive, approachable, and personable. You have to embody all of that internally, otherwise you can't convey it externally. All Landmarken employees are also ambassadors for our Landmarken philosophy. And it is very important that we live this internally as well. We have a great team and our employees are already highly motivated. Our job is to encourage this and to further promote the Landmarken philosophy and generate a sense of joy and motivation that radiates outward so that the business model simply has to succeed.

Finally, what is your favorite project and why?

I have many, but Bonn is my home, so I would say the hotel on the banks of the Erzberg. It's a relatively small project, but it fills me with pride when people from my family or friends from the past give me positive feedback or send me newspaper clippings, for example, that prove how successful the project is. I just mentioned our goal of exceeding expectations in competitions. And that's another reason why the Erzbergerufer is one of my favorite projects, because it has achieved exactly that. The tender called for a hotel. Now there is a restaurant, a city stage, a cultural venue, a rooftop bar, great architecture, and a hotel concept that even incorporates Bonn's theme of music. So much can come together in one place where the city "only" expected a hotel.