The Garmisch-Partenkirchen market urgently needs affordable apartments - and relies on a private investor as a partner for a project in the Burgrain district.
But can the hoped-for low rents actually be achieved in this way?
Opinions differ in the industry.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- Living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a luxury good - and therefore a location disadvantage in many ways.
The community wants (and has to) take countermeasures - with a residential project in Burgrain.
The special thing about it: The store does not build itself, but gets an investor on board, to whom it leaves the area on Steigfeldstrasse on a long-term basis under a long-term lease arrangement.
This is to build and operate the residential complex - around 40 accommodations are under discussion.
Project developer does not believe in low rents
The building and environment committee recently gave the green light for a corresponding tender.
The goals are ambitious: With the help of state subsidies, cold rents should jump out between five and a maximum of seven euros per square meter - which would be extremely favorable for Garmisch-Partenkirchen conditions.
The endeavors are followed very closely in the industry - and judged controversially.
One of the critics is the project developer Hubertus Johannes Theissen, who wrote a “public letter” to the editors.
His prognosis is bleak: “It won't work.
These are foams and dreams, ”he says when asked.
The 68-year-old knows his way around the real estate business.
His company (Dr. Theissen GmbH), headquartered in Münster, is active throughout Germany, with a branch in the district.
Theissen also has his second home here.
“Garmisch-Partenkirchen is very important to me,” he emphasizes.
His advice to the community: Steer clear of the planned investor model.
“The property developer is on his knees,” fears Theissen - and in the worst case scenario, he will leave behind a “ruined apartment”.
Because due to the many requirements and specifications, he argues, a private investor is not even able to build in such a way that the desired low rents can be achieved in the end and a return is generated on top of that, despite the support of the public sector.
“Building has become incredibly expensive,” he points out.
In addition, the maintenance of such objects devours a lot of money.
However, the entrepreneur is aware that there is a need for action in the tourist destination.
His suggestion: The market should take matters into their own hands - an idea that has already been proposed in local politics, but which did not find a majority.
"This is the best.
The community then keeps an eye on it, ”says Theissen.
The whole thing would be a grant business.
But in return you could increase the second home tax to generate additional income.
State subsidies
But there is also the opposite position: Florian Graf von Deym, Managing Director of Graf von Deym'schen Immobilien GmbH (Weßling), proves that social responsibility and the pursuit of profit do not have to stand in the way.
His family business has developed a business model that siphons off state aid such as grants and low-interest loans in order to create quarters that those who do not have a large bank account can afford.
The program for income-oriented funding, known as EOF for short, comes into play here.
The building costs, which have risen sharply in recent years, are a "challenge", admits von Deym, who was a guest in the Garmisch-Partenkirchner municipal council in 2020.
A long-term horizon is crucial for this form of investment.
Anyone who is speculating on a quick profit is out of place.
Von Deym has already signaled interest in the Burgrain project: "We could well imagine that."
A much-noticed model estate moved his company up in Oberammergau: These are the multi-generational apartments on Rainenbichl, which they moved into in 2012 and 2015.
The tenants there pay an average of 4.63 euros per square meter (cold) after deducting the financial injections.
Anyone who expects wood class with these conditions is wrong.
"That is the modern new building standard," reports von Deym.
These include underfloor heating, balconies or terraces and accessibility.
And the residents even have extras such as common rooms at their disposal.