The HUB City Management and Neighborhood Development at DBI is primarily concerned with supporting retailers and restaurants in their search for locations and marketing and brokering vacant stores in the city center and Duisburg's districts. To this end, the team uses instruments such as funds for subsidized rentals and a digital tool for active vacancy management to promote the revitalization of the city center and the established centers in the city districts. The main target groups are tradespeople and property owners. You can also reach DBI's city management team in the store at Poststr. 14 directly in the city center. Together we develop Duisburg!
What we do:
What you get out of it:
Current and upcoming projects:
Previous projects:
Following the positive experience from the first period, the rental fund will not only be extended, but also supplemented, as concepts for Duisburg's city districts will now also be eligible for funding in addition to relocation projects in city center locations. The "Immediate action program to strengthen our inner cities and centers" of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia applies to the city centre locations, and the "Municipal Rental Fund" applies to the districts.
"We are committed to enhancing the attractiveness of our city centers and district centers. This includes, in particular, combating vacancies," said Michael Rüscher, Head of Economic Affairs, on the occasion of the publication of this good news for Duisburg.
Our city centers are of particular importance for the development of the city as a whole. In order to ensure the continued existence and preservation of our traditional city centers, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia launched the immediate action program for city centers in 2020 and then extended it.
The pressure to act is increasing due to the structural change in the bricks-and-mortar retail sector, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Increasing branchization and the shift to online shopping are leading to more vacancies. The attractiveness of the centers is dwindling and a downward spiral may be set in motion.
These trends are also having a similar effect in the districts and district centers.
A subsidized rent allows exciting retail concepts, pop-up stores, start-ups and restaurateurs or service providers to rent the vacant space. The eligible size of the store is limited to 300 m². The project will run until 31.12.2026.
Now that the concept for city center locations has produced some successes, the city has created a comparable tool for use in the districts. A separate fund will provide the City Management of Duisburg Business & Innovation with financial resources for 2024 and the following two years.
"Subsidizing rents for vacant stores is very important for tenants and owners. Financial incentives enable start-ups and founders with innovative concepts, for example, to revive businesses," says Lord Mayor Sören Link.
This means that DBI now has two effective tools to actively combat store vacancies.
We want to give new and young concepts the chance to try their hand at locations that are supposedly unaffordable. The aim is to enable success and to keep the entrepreneurs at the location even after the end of the funding period. Another important goal is to reduce vacancies.
Applications can be submitted immediately. A jury will decide which concept will move into the store premises available for selection. It is also possible to combine several concepts - the eligible size of the store is limited to 300 m².
1. if it is a matter of implementation in the city : look at the map (see attached) for the concentration area and check whether there is a possibility of funding.
2. for all: fill in the application form.
3. we will get in touch with you!
Project Manager City-Management
Project Manager City-Management
