PARTNER TO CITIES

With our long-term approach, we have always prided ourselves on being a partner to cities, helping local authorities to develop city centers and local retail concepts with sustainability in mind. That includes working hard at local level: for example, getting involved in local city marketing activities and inner-city associations. Following German reunification, ECE resisted the temptation to build “cheap properties on greenfield sites” as a shortterm solution. Instead, we pursued a sustainable strategy with carefully planned location concepts in the former East German states. This led to the building of the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden in Berlin (now known as The Playce), the Promenaden at Leipzig Central Station, and the Altmarkt Galerie in Dresden, among others. In 2000, ECE established the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation, which is