Funding

Since our project can only be financed jointly, it goes without saying that we provide our supporters with an insight into the finances of the old and new buildings and make our financing plans as transparent as possible. In the following you will get an overview of the costs and financing (according to the current planning) for the realization of both buildings, as well as the current status of the direct loans raised.

If you have any questions regarding the funding, please do contact us! Our email address is kontakt@collegiumacademicum.de and our phone number is +49 (0)6221-6734812.

Project costs

The self-managed housing project, which is run by Collegium Academicum GmbH, consists of a new building and two old buildings. The total costs are around 21 million euros for the new building and around 8 million euros for the old building. They include the costs for the building plot, infrastructural development, building construction, technical facilities, outdoor facilities, furnishing and ancillary building costs. Costs such as interest incurred during construction and funds available for research are also included in the calculations. Through adjustments and progress in planning, the exact numbers in our calculations are constantly being refined. In the new building, the construction work is already close to the finish line and also in the old building, we have already placed orders for the majority of the construction work. This gives us a high degree of cost certainty. Here you can find further details regarding the architecture and planning status of our buildings.

Funding sources

There are different sources of funding for our project financing of the new and old buildings: government grants, direct private loans and donations, sponsoring and our own work. In addition to these elements, we receive funding by the German Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW).

New building

Altbau

Grants for the new building

Our project was recognised to be 'outstanding' under the "Variowohnen" future investment program by the Federal Ministry for Construction and we obtained a government grant of ca. 2.12 million euros. An additional grant over 500,000 euros was approved in the context of the program "Holz Innovativ"(innovation in wood) that is financed by the European Regional Development Fund EFRE and the German State of Baden-Württemberg. Grants over 240,000 euros by the City of Heidelberg honour the dormitory’s barrier-free design (50,000 euros) and the energy efficient passive house construction (190,500 euros).

Grants for the large old building

We are receiving around 1.1 million euros in funding from the state as part of the BW 2022 housing construction funding programme (Wohnungsbau BW 2022) for the flats with social commitment in the old building. We also receive a KfW grant of around 0.93 million euros from the federal subsidy for efficient buildings to fulfil the KfW55 efficiency level. As with new building, the city also supports barrier-free planning for the old building (approx. 22,000 euros).

Direct loans

The project is realised according to the Mietshäuser Syndikat model (apartment house syndicate), which has supported over 190 projects in Germany. In this matter, we work together with project advisors in Freiburg. In this financing model, direct loans constitute an important source of funding. These are subordinated loans made by individuals who would like to support the project or want to be part of it.

We have raised around 2.9 million euros in subordinated loans for the new building. In order to cushion increases in construction costs, we still urgently need around 400,000 euros for the new building and therefore really need your support.

For the old buildings, we successfully collected 1.55 million euros in direct loans.

The current status of our efforts is regularly published on our direct loans page. We also collect donations for the educational work of the CA. If you would also like to support us, you can find out more on the following pages:

Bank financing

New building

Approximately 14.57 million euros of our project is covered by bank financing. For the planned low-energy standard KfW 40 Plus, a KfW-subsidy is implemented together with the UmweltBank. This subsidy is provided in the form of an interest subsidy and an annuity-reducing repayment bonus amounting to 25% of the loan amount. KfW funding is supplemented by house bank loans.

Large old building

As with the new building, a large part of the costs of around 8 million euros for the old building will be implemented via a bank loan and a grant from KfW. A particularly large amount of money is being invested in the energy-efficient refurbishment of the building in order to achieve the targeted KfW 55 standard.

Other sources

Sponsorship

Our project is very present in the public eye, both as an IBA-project and because of the many special features such as timber construction, use concept and modular space. You can find a publication overview on our press page.

Our own work (“Eigenleistung”)

"Eigenleistung" means that we, as a project group, tackle the work ourselves and carry out craft work and construction work on our own. The entire project is based on taking initiative and working in a team and contributing in construction work is an integral part of the project. Since 2020, therefore, work camps and volunteer activities on the construction site have been regularly on our schedules. Many opportunities for personal contribution of project group members were planned from the outset, but some also arise in the course of construction progress.

Despite its potential, the planning foresees only a very modest amount of own work, in line with a conservative planning approach. In the new building, it currently amounts to about 400,000 euros. This mainly comprises work in the outdoor areas, paintwork, assembling the furniture and constructing sliding walls and partitions. In the old building, we have so far mainly carried out demolition work ourselves. Soon other tasks will follow, such as straw dry construction, furniture manufacturing and paintwork.

In the future, there will continue to be opportunities to reduce construction costs or avoid additional costs through our own contributions.

Refunding of loans

Bank loans and direct loans will be paid off from the moment the first tenants move in, through the income generated by the rents minus running costs for operations and maintenance. The rent including heating costs in the new building is around 375 euros per month and person. This rental income will be also used for our large common areas.

Since our project is not profit-oriented and the tenants will be co-owners at the same time, we can guarantee low-cost rents in the long-term. When the first residents move in, we will also start paying a so-called solidarity contribution within the framework of the Mietshäuser Syndikat, which will support new house projects as they get started.

Figures at a glance