The cost of converting the old metropolitan cinema into a new music school is now 5.6 million euros.
On the other hand, however, 3.13 million euros in funding flow to Penzberg.
"Great financial support," said Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU).
Now the topping-out ceremony was celebrated - including a look back at an eventful past.
Penzberg - With the renovation, the music school will get its own place that has been longed for for decades, but also a modern music and cultural center, said Mayor Korpan on Wednesday afternoon at the Hebauf.
At the same time he looked back on the eventful history.
In the house, built in the 1950s, Karl Bosch, who had previously shown films in Engelbert Rott's restaurant on Ludwig-März-Strasse, opened the Metropol.
The first film ran on September 18, 1952: "The Försterchristl".
The cinema on Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse existed for almost half a century.
On January 17, 2001 there was the last performance with “The bride, her father and me”.
Berta Wilhelm, daughter of the builder, sat in the ticket booth until the end, at the age of 87.
Former Metropol closed in 2001 - the city bought the building four years later
The city of Penzberg bought the building in 2005. Shortly afterwards, the proposal was made to use it as a music school.
First it was about a renovation.
Then there were considerations of demolishing the house and building a new building: The construction costs were estimated at 4.13 million euros in 2008 - too expensive in the opinion of the city council.
At that time, the financial crisis prevailed after the bankruptcy of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
The project was frozen in 2009.
Korpan recalled that life only returned to the former metropolitan cinema in 2015.
The graphic artist and caricaturist Egbert Greven ran his gallery "schön + bissig" in the foyer until 2017.
The Kunstzeche-Verein also used it for exhibitions and art installations.
Metropol conversion is funded with a total of around 3.1 million euros
The city council decided to convert the building into a music and cultural center in 2018. The start of the conversion was in 2020. However, there was a major mishap right at the beginning: A company incorrectly set the piles that were supposed to support the building and had to start over.
This was done on the account of the company.
The cost of the city went up anyway.
Last May they were estimated at 4.96 million euros.
At the topping-out ceremony, the mayor spoke of around 5.6 million euros.
He did not give any reasons.
However, according to Korpan, Penzberg receives generous funding, a total of 3.128 million euros.
Almost 1.1 million euros are from the "Investment Pact Social Integration", around two million flow from urban development funding.
A further 50,000 euros for the stage technology come from the EU Leader program.
Music school director retires shortly before the move-in date
According to Korpan, completion is planned for the beginning of July 2022.
The music school will be able to use the rooms from the new school year in September 2022.
Johannes Meyer, of all people, who has campaigned for a new place to stay for years, will no longer experience this as a music school director: he will retire at the end of July 2022.
This also applies to his colleague Günther Pfannkuch.
He retired this August as an instrumental teacher at the music school.
However, as the conductor and musical director of the choir and orchestra of the “rural concerts”, he will benefit from the improved rehearsal opportunities, said Korpan
The centerpiece of the new music school will be a hall with 160 seats and a 45 square meter stage that can be expanded to 70 square meters.
There is also a small auditorium for around 50 listeners as well as eight rehearsal and classrooms.
According to Korpan, the facade and foyer of the former cinema would largely be preserved or restored.
In any case, deputy music school director Simon Zehentbauer is impressed by the new possibilities.
He went to the construction site every day, he says.
“We are very happy.” Zehentbauer also assumes that the hall will have good acoustics.
He still has one idea: "We would like to give a construction site concert before the official opening."