04-09-2023

After a two-year construction phase, Stadtbau AG has handed over the innovative LEJ CAMPUS at the Leipzig/Halle air freight hub to DHL. Michael Kretschmer, Minister President of Saxony, emphasized the importance of the major project for the economic development of Leipzig and central Germany.

With the ceremonial handover of the state-of-the-art LEJ CAMPUS, Leipziger Stadtbau AG has set a milestone in the further development of the Leipzig/Halle air cargo hub. The main tenant of the ultra-modern complex, which is also environmentally and climate-friendly, is the logistics group DHL, which operates the largest hub within the DHL Express network worldwide at Leipzig/Halle Airport. 

The LEJ CAMPUS is located at Josef-von-Copertino-Strasse 2-8 in the immediate vicinity of the DHL hub in Leipzig and consists of five multi-story buildings. It offers space for 1,100 employees on a total gross floor area of 34,000 square meters. The office workstations were tailored precisely to the requirements of their future users: the previously decentralized DHL units Network Operations and Customs as well as the airline AeroLogic. The latter is a joint venture between DHL and Lufthansa Cargo and will station around 600 pilots here.

The opening of the LEJ CAMPUS took place in the presence of Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer. He pointed to the positive effects of the large-scale project on economic development and the labor market in the region: "The LEJ CAMPUS marks a significant step for the economic development of Leipzig, Saxony and all of central Germany. This innovative project underscores our region as a leading location for modern logistics and sustainable growth. I am proud of the partnership between Stadtbau AG and DHL, which not only creates state-of-the-art jobs, but also supports long-term sustainability goals through pioneering environmental and climate initiatives," said the head of Saxony's government. 

Patrik Fahrenkamp, CEO of Leipziger Stadtbau AG, emphasized the future viability of the project: "For us as initiators of the LEJ CAMPUS, environmental and climate-friendliness were central goals from the very beginning. The newly constructed building complex generates almost three quarters of its electrical energy needs itself - through photovoltaics, but also through a combined heat and power plant that supplies the campus with heat. It runs on biogas but can also be converted to hydrogen." In this way, Stadtbau AG is supporting the sustainability strategy of its tenant DHL Group, which aims to reduce all emissions to net zero by 2050. 

Stadtbau AG paid particular attention to the design of the parking garage facade along the B6 federal highway, which is visible from afar. It is equipped with differently colored, vertically arranged solar panels that create a gigantic wave pattern. "We wanted to make a design statement with this building," said Fahrenkamp. "Depending on the incidence of light, the solar modules glow in different colors and, in a sense, make powerful waves toward a sustainable future." The parking garage has 600 parking spaces, one in five of which is equipped with an e-charging station. 

Stadtbau AG broke ground on the LEJ CAMPUS together with DHL Group in July 2021. At the inauguration ceremony, DHL Group's CEO Tobias Meyer was visibly pleased with the modern workplaces and climate-friendly technologies at the new site. "As the largest private employer in the district of North Saxony, we are committed to offering attractive workplaces in a healthy environment. In the development of the LEJ CAMPUS, our focus from the beginning was on the well-being of the employees and the sustainability of the buildings. Stadtbau AG has optimally implemented these goals on our behalf with future-oriented technologies and modern office space that also offers opportunities for exercise, regeneration and privacy."

The LEJ CAMPUS consists of five office buildings of different sizes, including a parking garage. The total capital expenditure volume is around EUR 70 million. The project helps to further strengthen the economy in the region north of Leipzig. Settlements like these have brought the city of Schkeuditz a 30 percent increase in jobs since 2014.

Source: DHL Group