Last updated: 02.12.2023, 09:00 a.m.
By: Magnus Reitinger
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New social housing in the east of Weilheim? Great thing for the city – actually. However, the potential developer would like to forego the underground car park that has been required so far. And that presents the town hall with a tricky decision.
Slightly smaller (than in the symbolic picture) is the underground car park at the "Hardtfeld II" construction area. © jödo
Weilheim – Actually, the property was once intended for very special purposes: On a still undeveloped area in the "Hardtfeld II" construction area on the eastern edge of Weilheim, the city originally wanted to enable a building group project. In mid-2021, the 1478 square meter site, which the city of Weilheim had received as part of the reallocation procedure for the new development area, was put out to tender for the first time. And it did so at a fixed price of 1.42 million euros – and with all kinds of requirements: "The best concept" in social, ecological and urban planning was in demand. Criteria included community orientation (e.g. integrative forms of living or multi-generational living) as well as ecological aspects, from renewable building materials to mobility concepts.
However, the project, which met all the requirements and had already drawn up concrete plans, failed last spring: In the end, the "Weilheim – Generation – Integration – Heimat" construction group found too few comrades-in-arms to make the project a reality. Above all, the market development with increased interest rates and construction costs caused some interested parties to jump ship (we reported).
CSU city councillor Klaus Gast warns of injustice
As a result, the city put the property on Hans-Korntheuer-Straße up for sale again, this time without the requirement for a specific social and ecological concept – and no longer at a fixed price, but by the highest bidder. In the meantime, a new prospective buyer has submitted an amendment to the local development plan "Am Hardtfeld II". He wants to build an apartment building with six residential units on the site as part of subsidized housing, i.e. with social housing. However, the developer wants to do without the underground car park, which is required by the development plan for this property. The six parking spaces required for this new building according to the city's statutes could be created above ground. This is even "without additional sealing" compared to the previous plans, explained the city building department in the most recent building committee meeting.
The city building department and also some committee members were quite open to such a change. "These apartments are urgently needed and will benefit the people of Weilheim," said Luise Nowak (Greens), "we should promote this." But Klaus Gast warned of an injustice that could arise with the desired change. The city had offered the property on different terms, explained the CSU representative – and without the underground car park demand, "someone else might have bought it". Gast referred to the "interested building community", which had moved away from its plans due to too high costs. In fact, those responsible had also justified the failure with the requirements of the development plan and explicitly named the required underground car park as an "expensive problem". With a yes to the wish of the new building applicant, the city would be "vulnerable", said Gast, "we simply must not do that". The matter would then also be "budget-relevant", because under different conditions "the city could charge more when selling".
Restart on 5 December
"It's a hot potato, the whole thing," said Alfred Honisch (Greens). And 2nd Mayor Angelika Flock (CSU), as chairwoman of the meeting, also advised caution: "We want subsidized housing, but we also don't want injustice." Flock stressed that the matter had to be "thought about again carefully", which is why an adjournment was necessary. The building committee has unanimously decided to postpone a decision.
The topic will be on the agenda again at the next meeting – next Tuesday, 5 December, from 8.30 a.m. in the town hall.