Design emerged

Schillerpark “new”: Was this actually planned?

The Schillerpark site: nothing has been heard about large-scale redevelopment for a long time.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

Eleven years have passed since PlusCity boss Ernst Kirchmayr bought the Schillerpark Hotel. In 2017, the first plans for a shopping center with a mega underground car park leaked out, but these were put a damper on in 2019. An architectural competition is said to have already been held, but nobody wants to know anything about it to this day. Now the alleged winning design from back then has emerged.

Things have gone quiet around Schillerpark. Things looked very different just a few years ago.

Looking back: "An investor can wish for a lot, but that doesn't automatically become reality!" These were the words of Markus Hein, then City Councillor for Planning in Linz, in response to the first ambitious plans for the Schillerpark site in 2019. At the time, the plans included a large hotel, apartments, office space and a shopping mall - including an underground car park with a whopping 1,030 parking spaces. However, Hein immediately put a stop to the ambitious parking garage plans and also ensured that the urban planning commission drew up clear guidelines for the development of the site.

This futuristic high-rise complex is said to have been declared the winner by a jury - but it will probably never be realized.(Bild: zVg)

Secret architectural competition
Owner Ernst Kirchmayr then wanted to take more time to prepare the project. Although there were already rumors at the time that an architectural competition for the "Schillerpark neu" had long been held and that a jury had even already made a selection, Kirchmayr remained silent and the city only let it be known that it was not involved in any competition.

Now, a subject from the alleged winner has emerged that shows what the "Schillerpark neu" could have looked like. The project is probably history.