Remaining sandstone façade is in good condition

It was like an open window that allowed a glimpse into the former days of the Frankfurter Straße shopping street: at the end of November 2024, some of the aluminum panels on the façade of the former Kaufhof building were removed for a few hours. The former department store is being converted into Station Mitte this year: A learning, cultural and meeting center with an enlarged, contemporary city library is to be built here by 2026. The uncovered section of the outer shell has now allowed a glimpse of a small part of the remaining old façade, which dates back to 1907 and 1930.

The sight of the balustrades, free-standing columns, arches and other elements surprised not only passers-by, but also the renowned sandstone expert Dr. Anette Ritter-Höll. She had come to Offenbach to inspect a section of the remaining historic façade and prepare an expert report on the basis of which a decision can be made on how to proceed. The report is now available. The conclusion: the condition of the façade remains is good despite the structural interventions of the past decades, as is the quality of the sandstone used; the damage caused by the passage of time and the applied aluminum panels need to be repaired.

"While the historic façade was briefly visible as a cut-out, passers-by repeatedly stopped to admire the façade, which had been concealed for a long time," says Martin Wilhelm, City Treasurer and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Station Mitte GmbH. The Stadtwerke subsidiary owns the building and will operate Station Mitte and market the space. "Many citizens have spoken out in favor of making this eye-catcher visible again. We also share this wish in the municipal council. Now we have to check whether and how we can integrate the costs into the already decided renovation." The city treasurer points out that a tight budget has been set for the transformation of the former department store into Station Mitte.

Andreas Herzog, Managing Director of Station Mitte GmbH Offenbach, is also pleasantly surprised by the positive assessment of the condition of the old sandstone façade. However, he warns against exaggerated expectations: "The building with a total length of 63 meters consists of several parts. The original sandstone façade is only preserved in parts on 32 meters of the original building from 1907 and the extension from 1930. At the end of the 1940s, the entire top floor, including the façade, was removed and rebuilt without sandstone. And the third part of the building on the corner of Frankfurter Straße and Herrnstraße with the former main entrance is completely missing."

Paul-Gerhard Weiß, Head of the Building Department and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Station Mitte GmbH, summarizes: "Only part of the former façade remains under the aluminium panels applied by Kaufhof AG in the 1960s, but we will now make every effort to preserve and integrate it."

"Only one axis was sighted, but the condition of the sandstone is without major weathering and suggests that the other axes, which are still under the sheet metal, are in a similarly good condition," says the expert. "The main cause of the damage to the sandstone is the driving of the steel profiles, which were screwed into the sandstone with virtually no regard for the profiles. It is remarkable that there were no cracks in the sandstone." This speaks for the great strength of the stone.

The dialog process within the tender for a general contractor to rebuild the building is still ongoing. As part of this discussion, the bidders involved are required to take these new findings into account.