Another building operator of the Gröner Group in Berlin

Another building operator of the Gröner Group in Berlin

Christoph Gröner, one of the largest and most prominent builders in Germany, head of Gröner Group AG, based in Berlin, has not realized any construction projects in the capital for two years. Although he donated 820,000 euros as a BIG donor of the Berlin CDU and publicly described himself as a convinced social democrat, he shows that ecological building is part of his corporate strategy. Despite considerable increases in costs in the construction system, Gröner emphasizes that the actual problems are in the enormous increase in land.

The development of construction costs in Berlin illustrated Groener based on numbers: in 2010 the property prices were 700 euros per square meter, while the construction costs were 2000 euros. Within 15 years, prices rose almost ten times. Nowadays, the property prices make up the majority of the rent, which is a challenging situation for building contractors and GRÖNER, which are faced with high property costs.

GRÖNER emphasizes that purchasing power in Berlin has decreased so that the construction of new real estate projects is no longer profitable. Therefore, his company has not pursued any further construction activity in Berlin for two years. Locations such as Cologne, Leipzig and Karlsruhe with higher purchasing power were preferred. The weak purchasing power of the Berliners compared to other German cities affects the profitability of construction projects and leads to Groener has oriented themselves elsewhere.

The discrepancy between political ideology and practice in construction is shown in decisions such as the Postbanktower in Kreuzberg, where ideological reasons prevented the creation of diversified living space. Gröner emphasizes the importance of a balanced relationship between social justice and economic prosperity in order to create a healthy real estate landscape. The lack of political willingness to quickly create building law makes it difficult to create urgently needed living space and could lead to social tensions.

In terms of the energy transition, Gröner speaks for sustainable solutions such as geothermal energy, which are not only ecologically but also economically sensible. However, he doubts the load-bearing capacity of the German power grids for the planned mass change to air-air heat pumps or air conditioning systems. His critical attitude towards measures that are not sustainable and efficient reflects his commitment to environmentally conscious building.