FRANKLIN is a new district in north-eastern Mannheim, Germany, beside Käfertaler Wald. Developed on a 144-hectare former US military residential site, it is Mannheim’s 38th district and is planned to accommodate about 10,700 residents and around 2,000 jobs. The official project page reports 7,773 people already living there. 1
The development company is MWS Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (MWSP), which bought the site from the Federal Agency for Real Estate in 2015. The wider conversion process began in 2011, and the city council formally designated FRANKLIN as a district in 2019. The first residents moved in during 2017. 17
The neighbourhood combines renovated existing buildings with detached and terraced houses, apartments, subsidised housing and other specialist housing forms. Four high-rise buildings are a prominent part of the plan; together, they contain 367 apartments. 1 The project also includes 500,000 square metres of green space, with parks, gardens, play and sports areas, and routes for walking and cycling. 1
The district’s development has included schools, childcare, public transport, shops and community facilities. Its connections include the A6 and A656 motorways, the B38 and Stadtbahn line 5; a regional cycle route is planned. MWSP’s neighbourhood-settlement management supports residents’ arrival and community activities. 1