Modernising shopping streets
(Lower Saxony)
The pedestrian zone of the city of Oldenburg (pop. 159,000) is one of the oldest in northern Germany. The deficits in the design of the town and the supply structure, which have grown over the years, threatened the competitiveness and attractiveness of the inner-city, however.
Source: Stadt Oldenburg
In order to strengthen the city of Oldenburg as an attractive location for shopping and experience in the Weser-Ems region, the pedestrian zone has been modernised.
Firstly, a design competition was held in 2000 for the entire pedestrian area, which worked out the potential of the historically developed structure and atmosphere of the Oldenburg inner-city. The priority was on upgrading and redesigning the public space, from which a positive impact on local retailers was expected.
The modernisation of the pedestrian zone was realised in a public private partnership (PPP) approach. I.e. the financing was largely arranged on a voluntary, private basis. To this end, the Ausbaugesellschaft Haarenstrasse (redevelopment company Haarenstrasse) was founded as a limited company by property owners and business people for the first modernisation section, namely Haarenstrasse. The aim of the redevelopment company was to convince all the owners of the need for the modernisation and the private financing.
A total of € 700,000 was required for the envisaged modernisation of Haarenstrasse. In order to spread the costs, the stakeholders agreed a financing key. The costs incurred by the individual residents were distributed according to a key that calculated the contribution according to the length of the building, and the size of the retail and land area. According to the contractual agreement between the owners and the redevelopment company, amounts of € 6,000 to € 100,000 were paid to the redevelopment company. After 80% of the financing had been secured privately, fixed agreements were reached with the city of Oldenburg regarding the constructions measure, and a redevelopment contract was agreed. Overall, 20 residents joined the redevelopment company and signed the redevelopment contract.
The city assumed the remaining costs. These included the city's planning costs with around 10 % of the total costs and 10 % of the "remaining costs", which were not covered privately. The city is also responsible for the realisation, monitoring, etc. The modernisation of Haarenstrasse was realised between March and October 2005. It was opened within the framework of a large celebration.
A redevelopment company was founded for the 2nd modernisation section, Lange Strasse, in late 2004 as a result of the activities in Haarenstrasse. Many discussions with the owners there and intensive convincing was required. However, the experience and results of Haarenstrasse could be profited from. The redevelopment contract for this section was signed in March 2006. The structural realisation started in April 2006. The modernisation of the second part of Lange Strasse started in March 2007.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Design competition for modernising the pedestrian zone |
| End 2003 | Founding of the Ausbaugesellschaft Haarenstrasse redevelopment company |
| 07/2004 | Redevelopment contract for Haarenstrasse |
| End 2004 | Founding of the Ausbaugesellschaft Lange Strasse |
| 2005 | Implementation of the first modernisation section (Haarenstrasse) |
| Beginning of 2006 | Redevelopment contract for Lange Strasse |
| 2006 | Implementation of the second modernisation section (Lange Strasse) |
| 03/2007 | Start of the modernisation of the second part of Lange Strasse |
Drawing: Irene Lohaus Peter Carl Landschaftsarchitektur, Hannover
Source: Stadt Oldenburg
In times when public funds were limited, the redevelopment and upgrading of the public space have been driven forwards by private commitment. The project is exemplary in respect of the private initiative and agreement with local government. The construction phases realised and the private commitment promote the development of the stock and also create signals and good examples for further sections of streets. The structural measures form the basis of the economic stability and attractiveness of the pedestrian zone.
The project location can be directly translated into Google-maps. Project in Google-Maps
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 26122 - town: Oldenburg - street: Lange Straße.
Record inserted on 19.08.2009 by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 30.10.2009