REVIVAL REAL ESTATE! 5 key components for the revitalisation of existing properties

THE stock does not exist.

The term ‘Bestand’ is a typically German word. It stands for stability, durability - but also for something masculine, something defiant. Derivations such as ‘exist’ or ‘retain validity’ speak volumes about our cultural relationship to existing buildings. But the reality of the property market reveals a different truth: nothing stays the same. And those that remain standing fall out of the market and out of favour with tenants.

There is simply no such thing as ‘THE existing property’ as a homogeneous entity and in contrast to new builds. Different years of construction, typologies and utilisation contexts - from Wilhelminian style districts to GDR department stores - require differentiated strategies. Ultimately, every building is an existing building from the moment it is completed at the latest. What counts is not the existence of substance, but its ability to reassert itself. If you want to understand existing buildings properly, you have to understand their mutability.

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There are only good or bad property products

Let's not kid ourselves: First and foremost, the commercial property sector is currently all about reducing or avoiding vacancies! But how? A clear look at property reveals: They are far more than built shells. They are bundled promises - of utilisation, of experience, of relevance. And they are in competition. What works remains; what does not develop further loses significance. The key distinction is therefore not between new and existing buildings, but between marketable and outdated.

Existing properties in particular have specific advantages and disadvantages. They carry history, substance and often emotional anchoring - but often also structural legacy or an outdated image. The aim must be to turn this initial situation back into a functioning, marketable product - through stringent examination, strategic repositioning and precise programming.

The product architect as a new key role

The development of such marketable property products requires a new understanding of the role of the product architect. This figure thinks in an interdisciplinary and systemic way. They analyse markets, understand target groups, develop programmes, translate brands into spaces and orchestrate the relevant components into a coherent whole.

Inspired by innovation processes in other industries, the product architect at REALACE brings together central key competences: Target group, programming, marketing, brand, concept architecture, development strategy, business model. He becomes a key figure, especially in existing buildings - because here not everything can be ‘redone’, but the existing must be intelligently transformed.

Fivefold pressure: why existing properties lose value

The challenges of revitalisation are enormous - especially when several factors come together. Five critical developments are driving the decline in value:

• Changing user behaviour - New work and consumption patterns are eroding traditional business models.

• Climate change & EU taxonomy - ESG criteria are becoming a burden but also an entry ticket to sustainable markets.

• Technological transformation - Digital infrastructures demand new processes and offer new products

• Changing markets - Demand is shifting and even drying up in certain segments.

• Interest rate and financial policy - Rising financing costs coupled with falling market demand are jeopardising projects.

The so-called stranding point marks the moment when a property can no longer keep pace in regulatory and economic terms. Those who ignore this point risk considerable losses in value.

In this development, a tipping point exists at around 25 to 50% vacancy. With the right approach, however, this can also be a turning point: a productive caesura at which new solutions become possible and often necessary. This is because the increasing vacancy rate not only reduces marketability - it literally increases the space for far-reaching transformations. What was previously taboo becomes changeable - in a new constellation, with changed positioning or improvements to product quality.

This turning point can be the starting point for new quality: through bold utilisation concepts, smart ESG strategies or disruptive business models. Those who recognise it and make targeted use of it can turn the decline into a renaissance.

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Our introduction to the solution: REAL PRODUCT REVIEW

The REAL PRODUCT REVIEW is the methodical foundation for successful revitalisation. It analyses four central levels - positioning, use, target group and profitability - and supplements them with additional success factors such as sustainability, architecture, branding and communication strategy.

The result is a data-based but creative assessment of a building's potential. This ‘initial diagnosis’ can lead in a wide variety of directions: Conversion, repurposing, reprogramming or temporary activation. It is the starting point for architecture, marketing and development - and it brings order to the complex field of revitalisation. Certain key components are generally of decisive importance.

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1. Positioning - creating differentiation with character

Every property needs a clear positioning - in terms of setting thematic priorities and differentiating itself from the competition. This can be a particular challenge in existing properties, as the structural condition often dominates at first. This makes it all the more important to establish a profile in terms of content and a viable marketing story.

Four exemplary strategic paths can point the way to successful repositioning:

• Easy Economy: Short-term activation with minimal use of resources. The aim here is to achieve quick effects through temporary uses or simple functional adaptations - for example in vacant malls or department stores.

• Urban Upgrade: A targeted opening and upgrading through urban impulses - for example through mixed use, ground floor revitalisation or interim cultural uses. This strategy is particularly suitable for urban commercial locations in good locations with development potential.

• Big Business: A strategy for large-volume users. Although currently difficult to implement on the market, it can still be successful for certain large tenants with specific requirements.

• Hybrid Hero: The sustainable, resilient urban building block. This strategy combines mixed use, community building and ESG criteria to create a coherent product with a strong identity.

These four paths serve as a guide and decision-making aid. Which strategy is promising in a specific case depends largely on the location, building typology, target group potential and image.

Examples such as Kalle Neukölln, where a multi-storey car park becomes an XXL garage, or Creon, where a nursing home is transformed into a new concept for communal living, show how powerful a well-developed story can be - if it is credibly developed from the substance and communicated with a clear attitude. ESG measures should also not just be formally processed, but understood as market-effective differentiating features and integrated into the positioning.

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2. Programming - Strategically developing utilisation synergies

A viable utilisation concept is more than just a functional mix of spaces. It is about turning a vision into a spatial structure that meets real user interests, creates synergies and harmonises with the qualities of the location. In existing buildings, this often means not rethinking everything, but recombining existing potential. This is precisely why working with preconfigured user modules is ideal. These represent recurring, marketable utilisation modules - such as working environments, urban sports, social areas or catering - which can be flexibly combined to form a meaningful overall system depending on the location and target group.

The REVIVAL method from REALACE structures this process. It analyses the existing building profile with a ‘building radar’, combines it with a ‘modular utilisation system’ that takes real operator interests into account and simulates various scenarios in terms of approvability, profitability and letting opportunities. The result: reliable utilisation concepts based on the substance and the market - not just wish lists.

This methodology is also used for more complex tasks, such as the revitalisation of district centres. The ground floor zones are reprogrammed for marketing on the basis of socio-demographics and other factors.

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3. Identity building - from branding to the brand in space

Identity is created on two interwoven levels: the communicative and the spatial. Identity building ranges from naming, visual appearance, storytelling and tonality to the design of the user experience in the space itself. Architecture, materiality, signage, art and even smell or acoustics can be part of this spatial staging - they translate values, attitude and differentiation into an environment that can be experienced by the senses.

But identity building is not a template, not a ‘copy-paste’ process. The character of a place must always be developed from the place itself. This means analysing the existing substance, history, environment and target group and translating them into an identity-creating design. If this is not successful, an artificial backdrop is quickly created that is not accepted by users.

Branding is not an end in itself, but a strategic tool to create a strong character from existing added value - which creates trust, provides orientation and generates emotional loyalty. Good identity building starts with the target group and culminates in the location. It is closely interwoven with placemaking, as both key components work together to revitalise places and charge them with meaning.

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4. Placemaking - user experience and community building

Placemaking means not only upgrading places functionally or in terms of design, but also revitalising them - through genuine interaction, social bonding and community-building activities. There are two central pillars here: user experience and community building.

At the centre is the question: Who brings life to a location? Typical anchor tenants with an external impact such as restaurants, fitness centres, hotels, health or customer centres play a decisive role here. But placemaking starts earlier - with the targeted selection and integration of these players.

Users and tenants are not only ‘served’, but can also be actively involved in the development process. They can articulate needs and ideas through interviews, workshops or pioneer uses. At the same time, tenants do not know what they do not (yet) know - which is why experts with empathy and analytical flair are needed who can derive a viable concept from statements, behaviour and the spatial context.

In placemaking, the location itself is placed in relation to its surroundings: What role can and should it play in the neighbourhood? How can a new, positive image transfer be created? Placemaking is therefore always also neighbourhood design - with an effect on the cityscape and the social fabric.
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The example of Kalle Neukölln shows how these principles work in practice: The large atriums, the publicly accessible food hall, the huge roof terrace with swimming pool and greenhouses are not just architectural gimmicks - they are deliberately staged places for interaction, networking and identification. They mark community hubs and bring the project to life.

Good placemaking focusses on these key locations. It works with precise dramaturgy: Where does proximity arise? Where is exchange? Where to retreat? It thinks of the location in terms of its experiential value and social function - and this pays off, not only in terms of image, but also in terms of economic success.

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5. New business models - do we need more flexible approaches?

The crisis in property portfolios is also a crisis in outdated business models. The classic principle of full letting with long-term contracts, standardised space units and purely technical operator services is coming under increasing pressure. At the same time, there is a growing realisation that we are living in a time of upheaval in which real estate needs to be rethought - also in terms of its economic logic.

New times require new role models: The landlord becomes the host, the asset manager perhaps the community manager and placemaker. Instead of relying on rigid rental models, active service, hospitality and participation management may become more important.

There is particular potential here in existing properties. This is because costly refurbishment is often not even necessary if the existing spaces are reactivated through intelligent utilisation concepts, new services or alternative contract models. Are models such as membership, pay-per-use or curated combined rental space utilisation the future? They offer more flexible utilisation options - for both tenants and operators. This is particularly exciting for hybrid locations and user groups with a high need for communication or innovation.

One example is the Urban Tech Republic, where a token-based payment system is being trialled: Space is not rented out permanently, but booked flexibly - supported by digital infrastructures. This lowers thresholds, expands the user base and ultimately increases space efficiency. Such systems can help to avoid difficult conversions, particularly in existing buildings, while still creating new attractiveness and resilience through modular, smart rental models.

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Conclusion: The revitalisation of existing properties requires attitude, a systematic approach - and courage

The path to successful revitalisation is not rocket science. But it does require systematic thinking, the courage to differentiate and a new creativity in dealing with existing substance. REVIVAL and REAL PRODUCT REVIEW provide the methodological and strategic backbone for this.

The five key components - positioning, programming, identity building, placemaking and new business models - can be modularly integrated into existing processes. They help not only to find technical solutions, but also to create real living environments that are relevant and resilient again.

Ultimately, there is a large toolbox for revitalising existing properties. It all depends on the right choice and dosage of resources. Not every measure is suitable for every property - it takes sensitivity and experience to choose the right combination from the variety of possible approaches.

It is important to think beyond the building as a mere ‘rental space’ or technical object. A sustainable property is always also a place that creates added value for the target groups - be it through atmosphere, services, community or quality of experience.

This is precisely the core of our work. The revitalisation process is not a purely technical or planning project. It is a cultural and strategic transformation process that oscillates between clear concepts, proven methods and transdisciplinary creativity: REVIVAL REAL ESTATE!

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