Utilities and roads come next
The next roadwork will include frost-protection layers and asphalt. Infrastructure work for the district began in February 2024; the city expects provisional street surfaces in the first land-marketing section to be ready in 2028, allowing above-ground building construction to begin afterward.
Dietenbach will be developed in five construction phases. The first, Am Frohnholz, has a core area of about 20 hectares and is planned to accommodate roughly 1,600 apartments for about 3,500 people.
Applications for the first land-marketing section of that phase were accepted through the city's marketing platform until June 12, 2026. A second marketing section is expected to follow in spring 2027.
Stored excavation material supplies the road embankment
Building the first phase's road embankment required roughly 700,000 metric tons of mostly gravelly material. About 85% came through Erdaushubzwischenlager Dietenbach GmbH (EDG), the excavated-soil storage operation that began operating in December 2021.
EDG collected the material from local and regional construction projects of varying sizes. Sources included construction of the second city hall in Stühlinger, projects by Freiburger Stadtbau and numerous private building sites.
Crews placed the material over about a year, making it essential to have large quantities available at short notice. By accepting and storing excavated material over a longer period, EDG could supply it when construction required it.
The city says this approach reduces pressure to make large, last-minute purchases at substantially higher prices and helps avoid shortages during critical construction stages. Keeping material on site also reduces additional truck trips during construction, easing the burden on roads and the environment while making work more efficient.
Martin Haag, the city's building commissioner, said the storage operation saves money and speeds construction while reducing truck traffic by allowing excavated soil to be reused directly within the region.
Housing, public facilities and financing
The City of Freiburg plans around 6,900 apartments for about 16,000 residents across roughly 107 hectares in the city's west. Half of all housing units are intended to be subsidized rental apartments.
Plans call for a community school, or Gemeinschaftsschule, serving around 1,700 students with an adjoining sports and exercise park from the first construction phase onward. The district is also to have 22 daycare centers, three district parks and three tram stops.
In its project FAQ, the city estimates expenditure at around 1.3 billion euros, offset by about 1.14 billion euros from land marketing and roughly 60 million euros in compensation payments and grants. The city budget is to cover the remaining gap of around 100 million euros through annual installments of 5 million euros over 20 years.
Next phase expected to start in mid-2029
Current plans put the district's total requirement for gravelly material at about 1.5 million metric tons, excluding the final road construction layers. The next construction phase, which is somewhat smaller than the first, is expected to begin in mid-2029 and require around 340,000 metric tons.
EDG Managing Director Max Wachter said the quantities needed for that phase must also be planned well in advance to ensure reliable supply. He said advance procurement planning supports both construction progress and the district's economic viability.
