Where is the journey going?: The industrial monument Hanfwerkeareal is to be extensively renovated and revived over the next 20 to 25 years. © Matthias Matz
The company Glass wants to renovate and revive the hemp plant area. What exactly is planned, the architect Werner Dehm presented on Tuesday evening to the city council.
Feet– There have already been many ideas in the past as to what should happen to the former hemp factory site after the end of Textil AG. Now the Mindelheim-based construction company Glass is making the next attempt as the owner: On Tuesday, the Augsburg architect Werner Dehm presented the city council with a "master plan for hemp plants".
This provides for a mixture of commerce, gastronomy, a hotel and living on the approximately 50,000 square meter industrial site on the Lech. Although the city council voted in principle for the initiation of a development plan procedure based on this concept, some councillors were critical of the planned construction of a hotel. And the planned parking deck also caused discussions.
20 minutes – that's how much time the administration had given Dehm to present his plans. And what the Augsburg architect explained in the 20 minutes had it all. For example, the Glass company plans to renovate and revive the former hemp plant site step by step over the next 20 to 25 years for over 100 million euros.
As Dehm emphasized several times, the concept had been closely coordinated with the district office, monument protection and the State Road Construction Office over the past year and a half. The core of the project: the three historic industrial complexes, some of which are listed as historical monuments, are to be made more visible again by demolishing intermediate buildings. "We want to uncover them. Only then can I bring the industrial line to life," says Dehm.
Big plans: The hemp plant area is to be brought back to life. © Matthias Matz
Between the rows, green spaces and open channels are to be created. "Water was the element that made the industry work," the architect explained.
A mixture of trade, art, crafts, indoor/leisure, gastronomy and services is to move into the halls themselves. For the northern complex directly on the Lech, a hotel and apartments for the employees of the catering establishments located on the site are planned.
In order to keep cars away from the site, a multi-storey car park is planned in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the site – which, among other things, is to be generously expanded with a left-turn lane from Tiroler Straße. This will not only offer space for around 350 cars, but also bicycles and e-charging stations and will not protrude beyond the Tiroler Straße/B17. "The goal is to calm traffic in Magnuspark," says Dehm. However, the exact size depends on future use.
Lots of praise
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The city councillors agreed in principle with what they had heard. Erich Nieberle (SPD) praised the plans as a "very, very attractive concept". Jürgen Doser of the Füssen Free Voters (FWF) recalled that the topic of hemp plants has been occupying local politics for over 15 years. "We've heard some fantasies," he said. "For the first time, this is something down-to-earth that fits!"
However, he asked not to forget the many small craftsmen and artists who are already working on the site. CSU councillor Barbara Henle was also worried about this and asked what would happen to the current tenants. Dehm replied that these should be kept in any case. "The arts and crafts should not only be secured, but expanded."
Criticism was voiced above all about the planned hotel. Above all, CSU city councillor and hotelier Andreas Eggensberger spoke out against it and referred to the city's accommodation concept. "There doesn't have to be an additional tourist attraction," he stressed. Rather, the area should be developed primarily for locals. "The master plan should be changed," he demanded to the applause of the numerous listeners, including above all current tenants of Magnuspark.
Wolfgang Bader (Greens) also spoke out against the hotel and in favour of more offers for locals. For him, the concept as a whole has "the charm of an amusement park".
Much remains unclear
Meanwhile, Niko Schulte (Füssen-Land) wanted to know exactly what the expansion of the access road and the multi-storey car park was all about. "What do we have to imagine?" he asked. Also: "I miss living down there!" Dehm replied that in fact mainly apartments for employees were planned and not a general residential area.
On the subject of traffic volume, he openly admitted that this question could not yet be answered seriously, as the final use and utilization was not yet clear. Instead of the planned 350, there could also be 550 parking spaces.
Despite the concerns, the council finally voted with five votes against (Niko Schulte, Anna-Verena Jahn, Wolfgang Bader, Christine Fröhlich and Ilona Deckwerth) to initiate a development plan procedure on the basis of the "master plan" and to draw up a qualified development plan. Glass will cover the costs for this. This is to be accompanied by comprehensive information for citizens and tenants by Glass.
