Developments around the historic signal box are progressing

At its most recent meeting on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, the Offenbach City Council confirmed that the listed signal box on Bismarckstraße is to be developed into a place that creates a sense of identity for use by citizens. To pursue this purpose, a joint development with parts of the future new building of GBO Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft Offenbach mbH is being sought. The municipal council's proposal will be presented to the city council for a decision on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

The property at Bismarckstraße 118 was acquired by the city together with the historic signal box as part of the "Social Cohesion" urban development program in 2018. The city is pursuing several goals with the former Deutsche Bahn site: The barrier effect of the railroad embankment is to be reduced, the connection of the Senefelderquartier to the city center is to be strengthened and a community housing project is to be implemented as a good example. At the same time, urgently needed public spaces for local groups and civil society initiatives are to be created and the signal box, which is now a listed building, is to be upgraded and put back into use.

To this end, the former functional buildings of Deutsche Bahn have already been demolished, the heavily contaminated signal box has undergone pollutant remediation and part of the land has been transferred to the GBO. An urban and open space planning competition held in 2022 was able to identify design perspectives for the future open spaces. At the same time, GBO is planning a new building on Bismarckstrasse that will provide space for communal forms of living.

The decision that has now been taken continues these developments. The core idea is to link the further design of the signal box with parts of the first floor areas of the new building. The advantages are obvious: there is no need for a costly new development of the signal box; instead, the listed rooms are to be carefully renovated to provide a space for as many different uses as possible. Toilet facilities and a kitchenette will be located in the new building, while a multifunctional room will expand the potential uses.

The resolution authorizes the municipal authorities to negotiate with the GBO regarding the acquisition of the future first floor areas. It also places the structural execution of the refurbishment of the signal box in the hands of OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, which was already entrusted with the preparatory measures on the site. An initial rough cost estimate assumes a financing requirement of around EUR 680,000. Proportional refinancing of the refurbishment and the potential acquisition from urban development funds can be expected. The implementation of the structural measures, including the creation of the open space, will take place from 2025.

In order to bridge the transition phase until the start of construction work, the open spaces on the site will be used temporarily by the Wetter- und Klima-Werkstatt and the Diamant Offenbach project, which was created in the HfG environment. In 2024, "intercontinental gardens" will be created here, in the design of which Offenbach residents can participate. The first players are already active on site and are looking forward to supporters and contributors.

A further aim of the approach now adopted by the municipal council is that the rental and operation of the premises should preferably be carried out by a civil society group itself. To this end, a concept is to be drawn up in parallel with the further development steps and the public is to be approached more intensively.