New life for old post office building

The final coordination with the Offenbach-based artists' collective YRD.Works is currently underway to use and play on the first floor with the former ticket hall and the Intercontinental Gardens can continue to grow in the inner courtyard. The project had to leave its previous location at the old railroad signal box in Bismarckstraße and can now plant the 3,000 square meter area between the original building from 1884 and the modern extension from 1975 and use it free of charge for diverse and inclusive activities.

"The old part of the property is a cultural monument that is located in the heart of the pedestrian zone and is known to all Offenbach residents. It is of great strategic importance for the future concept for the city center," says city treasurer and responsible department head Martin Wilhelm. This future concept comprises 16 projects and is intended to strengthen the retail sector. The aim is to create new reasons for citizens to come to the city center and to maintain the heart of the city as an inviting and lively place. "It is therefore right that the municipal housing association secures buildings such as the former post office. In cooperation with the business development agency, we can ensure that the property at Aliceplatz 10 and the Mitte station on Frankfurter Strasse contribute to the revitalization of the pedestrian zone."

Initially, the uses for the old post office building are interim solutions. The GBO is only taking a small rent, and no major conversions are planned for the interim use. The Hochschule für Gestaltung would like to use more space, but static challenges in the old part of the building still need to be solved. "We are pleased that we can use the rooms in the center of Offenbach so quickly after the space in the customs office studios has no longer been available to us since last month," says Kerstin Cmelka, acting president of the Hochschule für Gestaltung. Having an interim solution in the middle of Offenbach's pedestrian zone is of course great and will help us bridge the time until our new building is completed."

A rental agreement for the extension and part of the second floor at Aliceplatz 10 has been in place for many years and runs until 2032. This space will continue to be used for technical equipment. "A long-term tenant will only be sought once the entire building is vacant. The building will then be converted to meet the needs of the tenant," says Boris Kupke, one of the two managing directors of GBO.

In the future, the artist collective YRD.Works, which consists of three former HfG students and currently also performs in the Kressmann Hall on Hafeninsel, would also like to stage projects for the public there.

"We are currently working on an application for a change of use so that we can allow a limited number of people into the building," says the second GBO Managing Director René Weber.

The Intercontinental Gardens, a project with many participants from Offenbach's urban society, want to invite interested parties to help shape the interim use with a garden parliament.

The GBO also wants to show from the outside that life is returning to the former post office building: "We want to upgrade the dark corner in front of the brutalist extension," says René Weber. "It should be made brighter and friendlier so that the location as a whole becomes more attractive."