HafenCity vs. Speicherstadt: which base suits whom?
Only a Fleet, or rather the street Am Sandtorkai, separates the two quarters. In terms of rents, landlords and floor plan layouts, they are worlds apart. An honest comparison for anyone torn between brick and new build.
HafenCity or Speicherstadt, which office location pays off?
The Speicherstadt offers brick character in a UNESCO World Heritage site, with mostly smaller, deeper loft spaces, while HafenCity provides modern new-build properties with higher rents and more efficient layouts. Cost-conscious creative firms are often better served in the Speicherstadt, growing companies with representational requirements in HafenCity. The article compares rents, transport links and the day-to-day reality of both addresses.
01 Two neighbours, two worlds
HafenCity is Europe's largest inner-city urban development project: 157 hectares, planned for over 45,000 jobs, and today already home to around 15,000 employees in some 930 companies. Unilever, DNV and the SPIEGEL Group have their headquarters here, and MSC's German head office was the most recent addition. The Speicherstadt next door is the opposite: opened in 1888, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015 (together with the Kontorhausviertel and the Chilehaus), an organically grown brick ensemble accommodating around 300,000 m² of warehouse floors, offices, showrooms and studios.
02 What does a view of the canal cost?
| HafenCity | City (for comparison) | |
|---|---|---|
| Submarket grid (reporting year 2025) | €20.00–35.50/m² | €22.00–37.00/m² |
| Alternative market definition (2025) | €17.00–34.00/m² | €19.00–37.00/m² |
Net rents per m². The Speicherstadt has no submarket of its own, but rents there are usually between €17.00 and €25.00/m² (as of 2026).
Space in the Speicherstadt rarely appears on property portals, unless a larger block is being refurbished and developed, as is the case with Block V on Brooktorkai. Here, the auditing firm Baker Tilly will take around 4,500 m² in 2028.
Only a canal separates the two quarters. In rents, landlords and floor plans they are worlds apart.From this article
03 Transport links and surroundings
The U4 has been running to HafenCity since 2012 and, following its extension to the Elbbrücken, also serves the eastern part, which has thus become the entry-level price segment in this submarket. The Speicherstadt lies within walking distance of Baumwall, Meßberg and Rathaus. Catering and local amenities in HafenCity around the Überseeboulevard are now considerably denser than between the canals. That was quite different only a few years ago.
04 Who fits where?
- HafenCity: companies that need representative new-build space with efficient floor plans, cooling and large contiguous floors, and are prepared to pay city-centre rents for it.
- Speicherstadt: brands, agencies, showrooms and anyone who values character over a standard grid. In return, World Heritage and listed-building rules apply: column grids, smaller window areas, fit-out only by agreement.
- Access: in the Speicherstadt almost everything runs through direct relationships with the landlord, and that is exactly where our advice comes in.
HafenCity, Speicherstadt, or something else entirely?
Tell us what you need and we will look at both, at possible alternatives and at our off-market portfolio.
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