URBACT: Transfer Network ALT/BAU
Initial situation
The StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency is an initiative of the city of Chemnitz. It is working to bring the numerous Wilhelminian-style buildings that have been standing empty in Chemnitz city centre for many years back into conversation and into renovation. In doing so, it addresses both the building owners as well as people and companies who are interested in sustainable and innovative reutilisation of the buildings as users or investors. The agency does not work for profit or on a commission basis.
Coordination centre
The agency sees itself as a coordination centre through which owners, potential users and investors can be networked and brought into contact. The agency actively approaches the owners of all those buildings where there is an urgent need for action and which, for one reason or another, have been withdrawn from the city's property market. Thanks to its close cooperation with Chemnitz City Council and its redevelopment agencies, it can respond to questions quickly and unbureaucratically.
The StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency originally emerged from a pilot project that was developed in 2006 as part of the ExWoSt research field "Cost-effective and quality-conscious development of existing residential properties" by the Arbeitskreis Integriertes Wohnen e.V. as the project organiser in cooperation with the City of Chemnitz.
Since the end of 2011, the StadtWohnen agency has been run by the Westsächsische Gesellschaft für Stadterneuerung mbH (WGS), which acts as a redevelopment agency for the city of Chemnitz in the Sonnenberg district, among others. The spectrum of work now includes a wide range of coordination activities in old buildings.
An important part of the agency's work is advising owners, potential investors and users of the buildings it manages. The counselling and mediation activities cover the following areas:
- Information on urban development subsidies in the various residential areas and thus indirectly on financing
- Mediation between owners and interested parties
- Establishing contact with the relevant employees of the city administration
- Offering to discuss the situation on the Chemnitz property market, residential locations and the funding landscape
- Arranging contacts with relevant players and experts (redevelopment agencies, etc.)
- Providing property-specific information and data (if available)
Results
Since 2012, the StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency has been looking after more than 100 buildings, primarily in the Sonnenberg and Schlosschemnitz districts of Chemnitz. Since 2016, further buildings in the Zieschestraße neighbourhood and in scattered locations have been added. The success of the agency's activities can be seen at various levels: 43 buildings have now been fully refurbished and are occupied, while 63 are undergoing refurbishment or are in the immediate preparation phase. The sale of a further 20 properties has been brokered to a capable investor. For other properties with difficult ownership situations, the mere fact that contact was made with the owners can be counted as a partial success. The agency also supported the process of foreclosure auctions initiated by the City of Chemnitz for around 14 properties.
The process from initial contact with the owner to publication, sale and refurbishment often takes several years. The agency continuously supports this process with input in the various development phases.
The agency's activities were evaluated as part of the URBACT ALT/BAU network. The results of this external evaluation can be read here:
URBACT Good Practice
In July 2017, the StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency was recognised as a good practice in the European exchange programme URBACT. The good practice award formed the basis for becoming a mentor in a transfer network. From April 2018, the City of Chemnitz was the lead partner in the ALT/BAU transfer network.