Wohnstadt, Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessen

Wohnstadt, Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessen mbH is a German housing and urban development company headquartered in Kassel, Hesse. It is part of the Unternehmensgruppe Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt, a group that ranks among the ten largest housing companies in Germany. The group's combined portfolio comprises around 59,000 to 61,000 apartments in Hesse and Thuringia, with Wohnstadt itself managing a substantial share of that stock. The State of Hesse holds a majority stake in Wohnstadt, reflecting its public mission to provide affordable housing and to act as a development and redevelopment agency for municipalities and private clients. Wohnstadt's roots go back to 1920, when its legal predecessor, the Hessische Heimstätte, was founded in Kassel as one of twelve housing welfare companies of the Prussian state. Over the decades, the company evolved from a builder of state-subsidized small settlements and single-family homes into a comprehensive urban development and urban renewal service provider. It played a significant role in the reconstruction of Kassel after World War II, in the creation of new towns such as Stadtallendorf, and in urban renewal programs across northern and central Hesse. In 1994, the Hessische Heimstätte merged with its subsidiary that had managed the group's own housing stock, and the resulting entity was renamed Wohnstadt Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessen. Today, Wohnstadt operates as part of the NHW group, which maintains dual headquarters in Frankfurt am Main (Nassauische Heimstätte) and Kassel (Wohnstadt). The group serves its tenants through four regional centers, twelve service centers, and numerous renovation, neighborhood, and rental offices across Hesse, Thuringia, and Baden-Württemberg. Wohnstadt's activities include property management, project development, urban planning, and real estate consulting for public and private clients. The group reported a consolidated net income of EUR 32.8 million for the 2025 financial year and a housing stock of 61,556 units, underscoring its financial solidity and its role as a major player in the German housing market.

The legal predecessor of Wohnstadt, the Hessische Heimstätte, was founded in 1920 in Kassel as one of twelve housing welfare companies of the Prussian state. Its purpose was to alleviate the acute housing shortage in the administrative district of Kassel and the Free State of Waldeck through publicly subsidized housing construction. It also took on important steering functions as an organ of state housing policy. In the pre-war period, the company initially focused on state-subsidized small settlements and single-family homes in northern Hessian communities. Despite the difficult economic conditions of the early 1920s, over 300 apartments were completed, mainly in the Eschwege district and in Marburg. Construction activity increased significantly with higher subsidies from the house interest tax levy: by the end of the Weimar Republic, the company had built around 6,500 apartments in various locations in northern Hesse, some of which were managed by its subsidiary Hessenheim Wohnungsbaugesellschaft (later Kurhessen Wohnungsbaugesellschaft). From 1927, the Hessische Heimstätte maintained its own urban planning department, which took on zoning and land-use planning tasks for municipalities. Under the National Socialist regime, housing policy initially idealized small towns and an agrarian state. This changed with the expanding armaments industry from 1936: rapidly growing workers' cities needed affordable housing. Multi-story row construction in standardized and thus cost-effective design replaced small settlements and single-family homes. The Hessische Heimstätte implemented these guidelines as an organ of the public housing industry. It drew up plans for the Mattenberg settlement in Kassel-Oberzwehren, designed for 3,000 apartments, to create affordable housing for workers of the aircraft engine manufacturer Henschel. The same applied to Lohfelden east of Kassel, where the districts of Crumbach and Ochshausen were merged into a new urban district with housing for workers of the Fieseler aircraft works. The construction projects could only be partially realized. With the outbreak of war, housing construction came almost to a standstill. The bombing of German cities created a new demand situation: from 1943, the Hessische Heimstätte had standardized emergency shelters, so-called Behelfsheime, built using Polish and Russian forced laborers. After the war, the situation in the Hessische Heimstätte's area of operation, especially in Kassel, was characterized by an acute housing shortage due to war damage. The basis for reconstruction was the Hessian state government's housing emergency program of 1946, which propagated the small settlement in the green as a model for new construction projects. The Eichhof residential quarter in Bad Hersfeld, built by the Hessische Heimstätte, received first prize in the state competition for the best small settlement in 1958. Deviating from the funding policies of other federal states, Hesse linked the integration of expellees and refugees with its state development planning (Hessenplan) in the 1950s. Part of this strategy was the conversion of former armament sites into civilian residential quarters. The two explosives factories of DAG and WASAG near Allendorf in the Marburg district thus became the nucleus of today's Stadtallendorf with around 21,000 inhabitants. In the cities, too, the Hessische Heimstätte made a significant contribution to creating new housing. In Kassel, several hundred apartments were built in two- to three-story construction according to pre-war plans, for example in the Flüsseviertel in Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. By the end of 1956, reconstruction in Kassel was largely complete. By that time, the Hessische Heimstätte had built 1,495 apartments there. With rising housing demand in the post-war period and the liberalization of land prices from 1960, pressure to redevelop city centers grew: apartments and small businesses gradually moved to cheaper outskirts. New urban districts with several thousand apartments emerged, such as the settlements Fulda-Aschenberg or Marburg-Richtsberg planned by the Hessische Heimstätte. Against this background, the company's focus shifted in the 1960s from housing construction to urban planning and development. The Urban Development Promotion Act of 1971 created an additional field of activity: as a recognized redevelopment agency of the State of Hesse, the Hessische Heimstätte was henceforth involved in the urban renewal of numerous northern and central Hessian municipalities such as Arolsen, Hünfeld, Immenhausen, Kirchhain, Sontra, and Wetter. A legal change in 1990 revoked the non-profit status of the Heimstätten. For financial and organizational reasons, the Hessische Heimstätte merged in 1994 with its subsidiary that had previously been responsible for managing the group's own apartments. The resulting entity was renamed Wohnstadt Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessen. Today, Wohnstadt is part of the Unternehmensgruppe Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt, which is majority-owned by the State of Hesse and ranks among the ten largest housing companies in Germany. The group manages around 61,000 apartments and employs roughly 900 people.

• 2026

  S&P Global Ratings assigns 'A+/A-1' rating with stable outlook.

• 2025

  Group reports consolidated net income of EUR 32.8 million and housing stock of 61,556 units.

• 1994

  Hessische Heimstätte merges with its property management subsidiary; entity renamed Wohnstadt Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessen.

• 1990

  Legal change revokes non-profit status of the Heimstätten.

• 1971

  Urban Development Promotion Act creates new field of activity as recognized redevelopment agency.

• 1958

  Eichhof residential quarter in Bad Hersfeld wins first prize in state competition for best small settlement.

• 1946

  Hessian housing emergency program provides basis for post-war reconstruction.

• 1927

  Company establishes its own urban planning department.

• 1920

  Hessische Heimstätte founded in Kassel as one of twelve housing welfare companies of the Prussian state.

A socially oriented, state-majority-owned housing and urban development company focused on affordable housing and sustainable urban development.

• Rental apartments

  Affordable housing units in Hesse and Thuringia.

• Urban development services

  Project development, urban planning, and redevelopment for public and private clients.

• Property management

  Management of the group's own residential stock and services for tenants.

1. 1Unternehmensgruppe Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadtnhw.de
2. 2Über unsnhw.de
3. 3Geschäftszahlennhw.de
4. 4Kontakt & Standortenhw.de
5. 5Wohnstadt, Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessenwikidata.org
6. 6Wohnstadt Stadtentwicklungs- und Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Hessende.wikipedia.org