More space for innovative ideas – Opening of the new office and laboratory building GO:IN 2

With GO:IN 2, the City of Potsdam is making a further active and important contribution to the creation of settlement and growth opportunities for research- and application-oriented companies and start-ups in the Potsdam Science Park. Thanks to the existing GO:IN 1 innovation centre, which was opened in 2007, the city has already been able to provide founders and young companies with office and laboratory buildings at the site. However, due to the great demand, this property was fully let within a very short time. The spatial growth and development opportunities of the local companies were thus limited and also limited by subsidy regulations. In order to strengthen the location and keep the companies in the Potsdam Science Park, the state capital of Potsdam decided to build another, privately financed office and laboratory building. In doing so, the use of subsidies was deliberately avoided in order to prevent the imminent migration of companies.

More than 6,300 m² of gross floor area with 23 double laboratories and 53 office units were created. The total construction costs amount to 17.4 million euros. The state capital of Potsdam contributed 5.2 million euros to the financing of the project. The state government supported the project by providing the land. The developer and operator is TGZP GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of the city. In addition to the GO:IN 1 and the GO:IN 2, the company operates four other innovation centers in Potsdam as well as the Babelsberg craftsmen’s and commercial center.

Where months ago only an imposing excavation pit could be seen, the gleaming façade of GO:IN 2 now shines. “And even though we are only opening GO:IN 2 today, we have already achieved one goal today. Because the starting signal for GO:IN2 was an important and effective impulse for the development of the location. All areas in the vicinity of the GO:IN have been marketed in the meantime. As a result, a development dynamic was created that was also transferred to the neighboring areas of the Technology Campus,” says Mayor Mike Schubert.

In the immediate vicinity, the “H-Lab”, another privately financed building is already nearing completion. Further new buildings by private investors are being planned and prepared. “In cooperative cooperation with private investors, a broadly diversified range of rental space for innovative companies is now being created. While we are concentrating primarily on small-scale space offers with a high standard of fit-out with GO:IN 1 and 2, more extensive offers with variable expansion options are being offered and created by private developers,” says Evelyn Paschke, Managing Director of TGZP GmbH and at the same time builder of GO:IN 2. In total, there will be space for all development and growth phases of companies in the Science Park in the future, from small start-ups to large companies.

With the opening, the first tenants are already moving into their new premises in GO:IN 2. And more will follow, as talks and contract negotiations are already being held with numerous other interested parties. “We are pleased to be able to make individual rental offers tailored to their needs to all prospective tenants again with our new house,” says Evelyn Paschke.

“The new construction of GO:IN 2 was a key measure of the city for the further development of the Potsdam Science Park. In order to maintain and continue the resulting development dynamic, we have already initiated the next projects,” says Bernd Rubelt, building councillor. In the medium term, the creation of the “Neue Mitte Golm” is to create an identity-creating and urban centre. With quality of life, work and stay for all users, with better supply and service offers, for more life and more liveliness. A long-term project, on the other hand, is the creation of additional development and expansion options for the site. To this end, the “Golm 2040 Framework Plan” is currently being developed together with the citizens of Golm and stakeholders, which is to form the conceptual basis for a possible northern expansion of the site. As a result, the conditions for site expansions can be created in 10 or more years.

The joint and ambitious goal of the city and state is to further develop the Potsdam Science Park into an integrated and internationally competitive innovation location. However, with the loss of GRW funding status for the state capital Potsdam, which was as surprising as it was short-term, the funding and financing opportunities for such projects have deteriorated significantly. “We have already proven that we can ‘think and act’ independently of subsidies with GO:IN 2. Nevertheless, financial support will continue to be needed in the future for the successful further development of the Potsdam Science Park. To this end, we must now find new and suitable solutions with the state government. Because the past has shown that we can only achieve great things together,” said Mayor Mike Schubert.

Pressemitteilung Nr. 535 auf der Website der Landeshauptstadt

Further information:

Technologie- und Gewerbezentren Potsdam GmbH
David-Gilly-Straße 1
14469 Potsdam
Geschäftsführerin: Evelyn Paschke

Fon: +49 (0) 331-6 200 200
Fax: +49 (0) 331-6 200 202

www.tgzp.de
Email: info@tgzp.de