Due to the increasing growth of the Port of Hamburg, the need for storage and transshipment points also increased in the hinterland. As a result, the commercial port was created in 1893 as part of the four Magdeburg ports. Over time, however, the port lost its function as the commercial areas extended further north of the city towards the A 2 and the other three ports. In order to breathe new life into the port area and still retain its character, it was decided to give the area a new use. For this reason, existing buildings were renovated and converted. During the construction of the think tank, which opened in 2007, two existing grain silos were converted (ground silos on the east side) or demolished (silo with cell block on the west side) and rebuilt in the same cubic volume, linked together and converted into an office building for innovative companies and research institutions.
Some still existing cranes, excavators, a historic lifting bridge and the chain steamer Gustav Zeuner, which is located in the harbor basin as a museum ship, were integrated into the area. In addition to the preservation of old buildings and machines, the construction of new research facilities is also part of the conversion to a science port, such as the striking Elbe Office or the building of the Virtual Development and Training Centre (VDTC) of the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF).
Another example of the linking of several areas is the expansion of the two Reichseinheitsspeichere, formerly known as Silo Elbe and Silo Handelshafen, at the north-eastern end of the port into two residential high-rise buildings with a total of 200 apartments, which began in 2021. The expansion was delayed due to the Magdeburg mill works opposite and stricter noise protection requirements. According to the construction officer Ralf Born, a solution was worked on together with the mill works.