Brick-and-mortar retail is changing, and this is no different in Offenbach than in other cities. However, together with the Offenbach offensiv association and numerous Offenbach residents, the city set out in 2020 to rethink the city center. This resulted in a total of 16 future projects that set new accents for revitalizing the city centre - and the recommendation to set up a central agency with three positions. One of the 16 projects is the temporary redevelopment of the town hall pavilion, which was previously used as a police store. "After trying for a long time to get by with as little money as possible and just one new position, Anna-Maria Rose, we came to the realization that this was not enough due to developments in the city centre. Since July this summer, Agentur Mitte has now been fully staffed with three people. This means that we have now gained considerable clout for the city center," says Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke. Schwenke had commissioned Agentur Mitte, headed by Anna-Maria Rose, to draw up a utilization concept for the pavilion. In consultation with the mayor, Rose then designed the ensemble built in 1972 with three different rooms as an "open space for everyone". Agentur Mitte has been making it available for various uses since April of this year; there is a "city space", "youth space" and a "bike space".
Graduate designer Daniel Rese describes what has happened there over the past few months as simply "overwhelming". No one would have guessed that the space opened about a year ago as part of a semester project at the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) would have such an impact on the research and further development of the bicycle. Citizens from all walks of life, students and cycling aficionados met here to screw things together and go for rides, there were lectures, lots of exchanges and, in combination with the use of the "stadtraum" with exhibitions, a temporary kitchen and, since the spring, a regular café, the radraum has established itself as a fine address in city life. At the end of the semester in February, Rese, a research assistant at the HfG, had to vacate the space again, but quickly moved back in at Rose's request and thanks to the support of the Offenbach Offensiv association. Since then, the number of bikes has increased significantly: in the past five months, the bike room has been open regularly on 100 days, attracting a good 500 cycling enthusiasts, around 600 repairs have been carried out and there have been 37 bike-related events. "The radraum is very well received," says Rese, "and shows," with reference to the recent nomination of the Frankfurt-RhineMain region as World Design Capital, "that design can make a difference in the cityscape". There, the Radraum was on the project list for the application, but now "it sometimes sails under the city flag" and has thus also become a little more down-to-earth - in the shop window, the "high-end bikes" have given way to normal bicycles, some with clear signs of wear.
Cycling space for all
Rese, his employees and volunteer Tudor Stephan refurbish these bikes and make them permanently available to the women who are learning to ride a bike after they have passed their bike test. The bicycles are donations from private individuals, the Artefakt store provides spare parts and the volunteer center provides instructors. Rese has also forged other collaborations, for example with Massif Central in Frankfurt, and is planning a new edition of the "Sattelfest" cycling event on 21 October together with others and already has a 23-kilometre "Green Sauce" tour for everyone and a diverse, multicultural program up its sleeve.
Frank Achenbach, member of the Management Board of the Offenbach am Main Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Managing Director of the Offenbach offensiv association, is excited to see "what kind of pull the bike space will have as part of the city center development", as some companies and start-ups in the sector have already forged delicate ties with Offenbach. Far from this, Rese and Anna-Maria Rose from Agentur Mitte hope that the town hall pavilion can continue to be established as a socio-cultural space even after the planned revitalization next year. "The fact that such a place was missing in the city centre is shown by the response and the popularity that the Rathaus-Pavillon enjoys thanks to the impressive program," says Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke and is relieved that this building block of the city centre strategy has worked so far. "This gives us the courage to continue pursuing the approach of using spaces in new and different ways."
An open space for an open city
Rose has tried out various formats there in recent months; it was and is as open as the space it occupies and so there have been discussion evenings, for example on the subject of homelessness, a flea market, exhibitions, a ceramics market, concerts such as the one by Offenbach band The Urban Socks with over 100 guests and a concert by rapper "Trust 9" with violin accompaniment, an art exhibition and a fashion show. Outside, a performance by the Frankfurt performance theater antagon theaterAKTion caused a sensation and the installation attracted many people to the pavilion during the HfG tour. It started without any claim to perfection and was a hit at first, reports Rose. She invited artist friends, used her own networks, won over the team that runs the Grace Studiobar to run a café, expanded her own team with Daniel Rese and an intern and, all in all, drew circles. After five months with regular opening hours and events, she says: "We've made the most of our options." This is how it should continue. Among other things, with the continuation of the "Open Dance" series by the DJ collective from Frankfurter Strasse and a regular Sunday brunch with L'Afrique from October 8 from 9 am to 4 pm. In addition, four exhibitions and a performance by the Offenbach Oratorio Choir are planned for October and a series of events to mark the Mexican Day of the Dead will take place in November," adds Rese. Additional content and ideas are to be developed at what is now the fifth event in the "Offen denken" series: For November 16, Agentur Mitte would like to approach cultural workers and cultural associations in particular in order to develop a joint series of events with them for the first half of 2024. An exhibition on Offenbach's main railway station is also being planned and has already been booked until the end of the year. There are already inquiries and lots of ideas for the new year too, and funding for the town hall pavilion has been secured until June 2024 with funds from the state of Hesse, the Offenbach offensiv association and the city of Offenbach.
More information on the future concept for the city center:
"What is happening in the city centers is exactly what experts had predicted. That's why we set out in 2020 together with the Offenbach offensiv association and the planners from Hamburg-based urbanista and developed 14 future projects to revitalize the city centre," says Mayor Schwenke.
The future concept for the city center includes ideas and offers to strengthen the heart of the city as a place for new ideas, experiences and exchange between citizens. "Anyone who walks through the city with open eyes can see how the city center is suffering from this shrinking of retail," Schwenke continued. "Our aim is to keep as much retail as possible, which is why we need to support the remaining retailers. But it is also absolutely clear that things will never be the same again. We are therefore fighting with all our might to mitigate the impact on the city center and to contribute to a new city center with new projects. The transformation process has begun, the first projects have already been initiated and more will follow. And we now want to accelerate the implementation with additional positions for Agentur Mitte."
