Site inspection at the Alte Aktienspinnerei: Demolition completed, expansion can begin
Brühl: Around 20 million euros invested - brisk construction activity on Brühl - refurbishment projects progressing - traffic concept being implemented - space for various user groups
Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The Brühl is already a building site in the best sense of the word and is therefore well on the way to becoming a lively neighbourhood - the establishment of the central library will give the boulevard a further boost in development. The Technical University was and is an impulse project for the development of the Brühl and an inner-city university quarter."
Meanwhile, lively construction activity can also be observed in the neighbourhood of the future university library: The activities of investors and owners regarding the purchase and development of buildings around the boulevard have developed so positively that the majority will be refurbished in the next few years. Around 20 million euros have been invested in buildings and infrastructure since 2011. A total of over 5.5 million euros in funding is available as part of the SOP federal and state funding programme.
Since 2011, 15 buildings in the "Karrees am Brühl" have already been refurbished, nine further buildings are currently under construction, easily recognisable by the numerous building sites, and a further 25 or so will be refurbished in the next few years up to 2017/18 - so much is already being planned by individual owners. There are hardly any vacant buildings left. In property terms, Brühl is a great success - the strategy of joint development has paid off here. The joint commitment of the Brühl management, the active project sponsors on site, the owners and the SOP funding programme in particular have made this development possible.
At the same time, measures are being taken in public spaces on the Brühl. Individual trees have already been planted and side streets redesigned, and work will continue from spring next year with the implementation of the traffic concept and the further design of the boulevard. The character of the boulevard will be retained despite its trafficability - the result will be a traffic-calmed zone in which the various road users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can co-exist. The platforms will be remodelled and parts of the enclosing walls will be removed to create accessibility and open up the terraces to the boulevard.
But the Brühl is not just a structural development project. The aim is to create a lively neighbourhood of possibilities. Various different utilisation concepts and creative approaches have been supported and promoted, for example The Brühlpioniere with their housing cooperative at Brühl 67 and 69, the European art community with an artists' house currently under construction at Brühl 67, the Musikkombinat as a centre for the music industry, a start-up centre for young entrepreneurs on Georgstraße or the Inspire meeting place directly on Brühl.
And the intention is to continue to work with initiatives and project organisers to enable different usage concepts for individual remaining buildings. These could be artists' residences, creative commercial uses or communal forms of living and working. Accordingly, a total of seven GGG project houses are planned.
The next few years on Brühl will be decisive - the main focus is now on marketing flats, developing further projects and attracting businesses, retail and catering.