Air conditioning, balconies

Favorites: Refugees move into brand new housing

Favoritenstrasse 185: The 110 apartments in the property will be occupied in the next few weeks.

(Bild: Zwefo)

Excitement in Favoriten. Diakonie and the City of Vienna are launching a unique project with refugee families. They are being housed in a brand new and superbly equipped residential building, which until recently was to be rented out privately. What is behind it?

There is great uncertainty around Favoritenstraße 185 in the 10th district. A privately financed residential complex with more than 110 apartments has been built on the site. Now refugees are moving into the property, according to rumors from local residents. And that is true. The Vienna Social Fund (FSW) and Diakonie are launching a pilot project that is new to Vienna, according to research carried out by "Krone".

The first residents will move in within the next two weeks. All of them are entitled to asylum and able to work, according to Diakonie. Families will also be brought together.

 "All adult residents will sign a support contract in which they undertake to actively participate in integration measures, language acquisition and job hunting," says Diakonie. Counseling and further training will be provided at the home.

"But why here with us again? Favoriten is already a hotspot for migrants anyway," asks a concerned Krone reader. The question is justified. At the end of January, real estate marketers were still touting the one- to four-room apartments: Best traffic location, all units have air conditioning and private open spaces in the form of private gardens, balconies or terraces. A luxury that many minimum pensioners do not have.

Some of the well-equipped units - some of them beautiful lofts with roof terraces - were also advertised on the "Willhaben" platform. The advertisements have since been deleted.  

Nevertheless, there were obviously no tenants. Because it was too expensive, residents suspect. According to the City of Vienna, the owner - a successful entrepreneurial family - has now made the property available to Diakonie.

"The families pay for the living space themselves," says the city hall's social services department. The question is when they will do so if at least some of the residents first have to be made fit for the job market. One thing is certain: The project, and therefore the occupancy of the apartments, is planned for 18 months.

The answers leave some questions unanswered. We will stay tuned.