Sandstraße

The Sandstraße project in Babenhausen, Hesse reflects the time-honoured craftsmanship of the original owner and builder. As a master mason, he only used high-quality materials and applied his high quality standards to the property. The housing space will be increased from the original two to three residential units by upgrading the attic storey.

Macro-location

The administrative district of Darmstadt covers the south of the Federal state of Hesse and is home to around 4 million people. It is part of the thriving metropolitan region of Frankfurt-Rhine-Main-Neckar and generates a major portion of Hesse's total gross domestic product.

The administrative district of Darmstadt-Dieburg is situated at the heart of this region. With its 23 towns and municipalities, it is regarded as having a bright future – not least because of the excellent infrastructure and its connection to three important autobahn sections. Darmstadt-Dieburg is a modern high-tech location and is home to large successful companies from the construction materials, food and paint industries. In addition to this, it has a fruitful agricultural sector thanks to its fertile soils. This primarily involves the cultivation of asparagus and maize. Organic agriculture also plays an important role in the region.

The district extends over the triangle formed by the Upper Rhine, Main Plain and Odenwald region. A large part of the area is covered by woodland and there are currently 27 nature reserves as well as several conservation areas and bird sanctuaries. The most important tourist attraction is the Messel Pit. This is a former opencast oil shale mine which has been declared as a UNESCO world heritage site and has produced a number of important fossil finds.

Micro-location

The municipality of Babenhausen is located in the northeast of the administrative district, approximately 30 kilometres from the metropolitan city of Frankfurt. It has good transport connections thanks to Federal Highway 26 and an interchange station, and it also benefits from its proximity to Darmstadt and Aschaffenburg, the latter being only 15 minutes away. The most important employer is the automotive supplier Continental with around 3,600 jobs. However, various small and medium-sized business such as the baby products manufacturer Lässig also have their offices in the municipality.

The area surrounding Babenhausen is densely wooded and primarily used for agriculture. The Natura 2000 area "in den Rödern" is located to the south and is extremely important. The former training ground for US troops is now a biotope in the middle of a flying sand area with unique flora and fauna. Babenhausen itself is located on the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße – the route linking Germany's medieval timber-framed houses – and has a medieval centre. The main attractions are the almost completely preserved town walls, the palace, the town mill and the Witches Tower.

Sandstraße 14 is located in the district of Harreshausen, approximately 2.5 kilometres east of the centre. The district is relatively densely built-up and has a population of around 1,100. It is surrounded by the Gersprenz river in the north and three flooded gravel pits in the south. It only takes about 10 minutes to drive to the A3 Autobahn from here.