Fulda „Osthessencenter“
In a former enamelling plant, which is listed for preservation, a retail park is planned. In addition, its link to the city centre is planned to be optimised in functional and creative terms.
For this purpose, a car park, which was anyway in need of refurbishment and which belonged to the adjacent “Osthessencenter” with a residential building complex of the 70s, had to be partly demolished and refurbished .
Only a structured presentation and mediation process, launched for 223 single owners, helped to find a satisfactory solution for all parties involved and to overcome planning activities that had been deadlocked for years.
Context
Source: die raumplaner, Berlin
The project area is situated in the southern city centre of Fulda (64,000 inhabitants).The so-called “Osthessencenter (OHC)” includes a densely built residential building complex from the 70s, a two-storey car park and a former enamelling plant. The location is well developed, the city centre is within walking distance.
The OHC is an ensemble consisting of several residential multi-storey buildings with approx. 230 dwelling units and commercial uses on the ground floor. The complex including the car park is owned by 223 single owners with different economic and social backgrounds. A large share of owners (approx. 60%) does not use their property themselves but lives spread all over Germany. Many of the owners, who do not live in the complex, purchased their property in the 70s for investment purposes. Some owners have never seen their property and thus do not know their tenants.
Parts of the area seem to be neglected. The situation is aggravated especially by the isolated situation within the urban neighbourhood, the high vacancy and lacking open space quality.
The production hall of the enamelling plant, a historical Wilheminian-style building complex listed für preservation and an adjacent building are available for the establishment of a retail park. In order to optimally link these areas with the city centre and the “Osthessencenter”, measures to shape its environment are planned. This is why in 2008 an urban development contract was concluded between the City and the project development company, OFB Projektentwicklung GmbH. The measures’ aim is to upgrade and reshape the area in terms of urban and open space planning.
The measures concentrate on the two-storey car park, which is anyway in need of refurbishment and which currently still hides the future retail park thus preventing its optimal linking to the “Osthessencenter” and the city centre. All options improving the situation, which are up for discussion, can though only be realised if the OHC’s owners agree. In order to find an agreeable solution with all the owners in terms of upgrading the environment of the “Osthessencenter“, the City launched a presentation and mediation process.
The area is funded under the “Urban Restructuring in the Old Federal States” programme of the German Federal Government and the federal states.
Project description
Source: die raumplaner, Berlin
There have already been several attempts by the City of Fulda to reach a common decision by the owners on the car park. But the approaches proposed did not lead to any satisfactory result.
In order to overcome the deadlocked planning, the City of Fulda commissioned a presentation and mediation procedure in the second half of 2008. The procedure’s purpose was to develop an agreeable solution for the car park together with all the owners.
The classical consensus-oriented process was from the beginning concentrated on finding the necessary acceptance. The first priority of this participatory procedure was to systematically prepare an acceptable solution model by involving the advisory body of the “Osthessencenter”. The second priority was to communicate the contents of the model to the owners and to get their binding agreement. This step was executed without involving the City of Fulda and the project developing company. The commissioned planning agency could thus act as an agent to the owners and conciliate the various interests.
The information from the overview gained of the complex was complemented by the findings gained in various workshops, systematically added to a line of argument and steadily updated. The participatory workshops were in the centre of the process. The interim results were presented to the owners during regional workshops and complemented by the owners’ ideas. The regional workshops took place in Fulda, Berlin, Essen and Ulm, which provided for many owners, spread all over Germany, to be won for the process. In the course of the project activities, an acceptable and thus sustainable solution model could be developed. It was finally presented during a special owners’ meeting and adopted by the majority of owners on 7 December 2009. In order to guarantee legal security, the different work steps were monitored by a law firm.
The argumentation was in so far convincing that, compared to a complete refurbishment or rebuilding of the car park, partly demolishing it was the more cost-effective solution for the owners and the most desirable urban planning solution from the point of view of the City and project development firm. The parking positions, which have to be removed in order to develop a link between the retail park and the city centre (40 of 198 in total), will be created on another site, the remaining ones will be refurbished. Plots had to be changed to shift parts of the parking positions, which also required further negotiations with a third partner.
Project chronology
Year | Event |
---|---|
02/2009 | contract for presentation and mediation procedure concluded with the planning agency |
03/2009 | survey executed (talks with the OHC administration and with representatives of the city administration and the project development firm OFB; existing plans and documents evaluated; search in land register database etc.) |
03/2009 | information workshop with the owners of the OHC |
04/2009 | scenario workshop with representatives of the owners’ advisory body, the OHC administration, the city adminstration and the project development company OFB to discuss and structure general solutions |
From 06/2009 | regional participatory workshops in Fulda, Berlin, Essen and Ulm to present ideas and win as many owners as possible |
10/2009 | land use workshop with residents and owners of the OHC and to collect ideas for improving the residential environment/developing a land use plan |
11/2009 | collecting all the relevant information and documents and sending them to the owners of the OHC |
12/2009 | special owners’ meeting to decide upon the solution model found |
Aims
Source: die raumplaner, Berlin
- to upgrade the area in terms of urban planning altering the free spaces
- to find solutions for the car park, which is in need of refurbishment
- to gain the agreement of all owners of the OHC
- to involve the owners in an urban programme
Types of measures
- presentation and mediation method
- survey including evaluating existing plans and documents, search in land register database etc.
- information workshop
- scenario workshop
- regional participatory workshops in Fulda, Berlin, Essen and Ulm
- land use workshop to collect ideas for improving the residential environment
- land use plan
- collecting all the relevant information and documents and sending them to the owners of the OHC
- special owners’ meeting to decide upon the solution model found
Innovations
Source: die raumplaner, Berlin
Despite the difficult circumstances, such as the many owners spread all over Germany, deadlocked planning and considerable structural deficits, an acceptable and sustainable solution for all parties involved could be found.
The reason is that all owners were involved in the planning procedure in time and in a target-oriented way.
Sources
- Internetseite "die raumplaner" zum "Mediationsverfahren Osthessencenter in Fulda": LINK
Further information
- http://www.die-raumplaner.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=27
- http://www.fulda.de/bauen/stadtplanung/stadterneuerung-stadtumbau/moderation-osthessencenter.html
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 36043 - town: Fulda - street: Heinrichstraße 58.
Poject site on Google-Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/kbsQXQ4RuWE2
Last update: 29.01.2018