Benko's "Lamarr" ruin

Tear down the block – and build a park!

Looks better straight away: The "Krone" graphic shows a world without a building block, but with plenty of parking space.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, APA Picturedesk, stockadobe)

More and more Viennese do not want another department store on Mariahilfer Strasse, but instead of the Signa department store ruins, greenery and life. The "Krone" is calling for an ideas competition: What do you want?

New shoes, new trousers, new bags - you can find them all on Mariahilfer Strasse on every corner. And more and more Viennese are asking themselves: do we really need another department store there? Couldn't the Signa bankruptcy and the halt to construction of the shopping mall also be an opportunity for the cityscape and the people? As reported, the "Lamarr" project is in a coma - where a shopping temple was to be built, a ruined building is gathering dust next to barriers.

Plea for a "place of nature"
And in the middle of the construction freeze, the editorial team received an email from reader Peter L. from Neubau: "Mariahilfer Strasse already has everything a shopper's heart desires. But what is hard to find: green space, parks, a water playground, a place of nature." In direct conversation, many Viennese see it the same way.

Czernohorszky refers to green space offensive
Tear down the building block and build a green space? Vienna's Climate City Councillor Jürgen Czernohorszky (SPÖ) is cautious in answering this question: "In view of increasingly hot summers, it is extremely important to protect and expand existing green spaces to provide shade, even in densely built-up areas. We are pursuing this goal with our green space offensive. 400,000 square meters of green space will either be converted or completely redesigned by 2025."

"Great" idea for the district leader
Markus Reiter (Greens), head of the new district: "The seventh district has around three percent green space. It is our declared aim to increase this proportion." And: "There are likely to be dozens of offers from real estate investors for the 'Lamarr', the creditor banks will want to make the highest profit. However, the idea of using vacancies and gaps between buildings for more green space is as grandiose as it is old."

The frustration of the Viennese about the ruined department store is vented on the building fences in front of it.

(Bild: klemens groh)

Maximum profit - instead of green space for the Viennese. But right now, politicians have a unique opportunity to change something there. What would you like to see on the Mahü? Shopping or trees, living space or restaurants? Write to us by e-mail or to "Kronen Zeitung", Vienna editorial office, Muthgasse 2, 1190 Vienna.

Trustee in bankruptcy wants sale before winter
Clemens Richter, for his part, is optimistic that he won't have to deal with the "Lamarruine" in Mariahilfer Strasse for much longer. The administrator of the department store bankruptcy - which is being negotiated separately from other Benko bankruptcies - reports that there are plenty of interested parties in the abandoned building shell: "Things are moving forward." Although one should not hope that he will "sell it within a week", Richter does not want to "leave the matter unresolved over the winter".

My job is to sell as quickly as possible and in the best possible way.

„Lamarr“-Konkursverwalter Clemens Richter

How the bidding process will proceed
Richter does not want to push down the price with a hasty sale and thus get less for Benko's creditors, but he does want to sell "as quickly as possible and in the best possible way" - that is what is owed to the residents and Viennese who have to look at the ruins. Richter is currently going through the offers bidder by bidder: First, data about the ruin and the financial strength of the bidder is exchanged under a mutual obligation of confidentiality. Then "selected interested parties" can submit their bids.

Richter has brought in former CA Immo boss Bruno Ettenauer as an advisory expert - at the same time dispensing with the advice of all former Benko people. Until the sale can go through and the reinforced concrete skeleton can perhaps become a house after all, the city will continue to keep an eye on things: The building police emphasize that they are in "ongoing coordination" with the two companies that are responsible for building safety and security services. Both are performing their "function to the required extent".