Eastern city center

Preparatory studies
in accordance with Section 141 BauGB     

Building block investigation

The eastern city center is undergoing continuous change. Structural change is clearly visible. In the course of this, the perspective development of building blocks, hereinafter referred to as the building block investigation, was initiated at the end of 2023 as a sub-process of the ongoing preparatory investigation (VU) in the eastern city centre.

The aim of the building block investigation is to work out the potential of individual locations and, together with the local owners, to create a perspective for the future development, modernization and maintenance of the buildings and properties.

The building blocks are the four built-up areas between

• Adalbertstraße/Stiftstraße
• Adalbertstraße/Reihstraße (up to the level of Wespienstraße)
• Adalbertstraße/Blondelstraße and
• Blondelstrasse/Peterstrasse/Schumacherstrasse

This process, which is unique in Germany to date, is being supported by the experienced planning and architecture firm Raumwerk - Gesellschaft für Architektur und Stadtplanung mbH - from Frankfurt/Düsseldorf.

The building block study will consist of two phases. In the first phase, the urban development sketches, coherent and visually appealing urban development visions for the four building blocks in the eastern city center will be developed in different variants together with the planning office from the beginning of 2024. In the second phase, from May 2024, Raumwerk will offer initial structural engineering advice for interested property owners in the entire investigation area of the preparatory study.

What you as the owner can expect from the building consultancy service:

• Advice on the development of your property and the interior of the block
• Advice on how property owners can influence the development of the location (e.g. establishment of interest groups)
• Networking with other interested parties/neighbors

Who is entitled to advice?

This offer applies to initial consultations with a group of at least three owners in a location/building block. If you are interested in a free initial consultation on your property, please contact aachen@raumwerk.net.

We would particularly like to encourage you, the owners and property managers, to take up the offer of a joint building consultation.

On 26.06.2024, a constructive first workshop for interested owners and managers took place in the PlanBar, Theaterplatz 7. The city would like to thank the participants for their involvement and has since been working on incorporating the information received into the building block survey.

The need to transform the eastern city center

We all have different images in our heads when we talk about urbanity. From the bustling, noisy square to the small alleyway with owner-managed retail, from the big stalls around Christmas and carnival to the off-festival in special places. This is exactly what characterizes the inner cities of the European city, they are a dense fabric of forms, lifestyles and possibilities. In any case, they are both-and rather than "either-or".

The developments of recent decades point in a completely different direction. Also in Aachen and especially in the eastern part of the city center.

The leading use "retail" is so dominant that its weakness has a negative impact on the entire area. And mobility - in particular automobility, but also public mobility - has permanently structured important urban stepping stones in the eastern city center.

Now that this leading function is losing stability and dominance, various phenomena can be observed simultaneously: Very high visitor frequencies on the main axes with simultaneous vacancies, large retail properties that can neither react robustly to program changes nor make a positive contribution to the microclimate, infrastructure that may not be built for the weather crises of the coming years and mobility that does not leave enough space for public interaction, for relaxed strolling, for culture and education, play and pleasure. And finally, the challenges associated with uses such as betting shops and amusement arcades and with the important care of sick, poor and homeless people.

The problem is compounded by the fact that a large proportion of private property owners in the inner city can no longer be brought to the table as partners in development. This may be because they are not on site and are absorbed into real estate funds, or because they are unable to cope for family reasons, or because they are relying on an increase in value by leaving the property lying around.

Unfortunately, we are not seeing a life-affirming "both/and" in our eastern city center, but a dangerous "neither/nor". We can only counter this development, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, if we now - first and foremost - promote action for the common good and drive forward the ecologically, economically and socio-culturally resilient transformation of the city center.

Part of this now-first-right is that

• The usage program of the eastern inner city becomes more diverse
• The city center makes an active contribution to the traffic turnaround and eco-mobility becomes the main partner for mobility
• The entire situation is adapted to the challenges of climate change
• The public space and also the private properties are developed with high design quality
• Private owners are given the opportunity to work together to make the eastern city center location a prime and special address in Aachen once again.

The current positions of experts are also moving in this direction - from the new "Leipzig Charter - The Transformative Power of Cities for the Common Good" adopted in 2020, to the discussion paper "Future of the City Center" adopted by the German Association of Cities at the beginning of 2021, to the "City Center Strategy" developed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community in July 2021 with the participation of the relevant trade associations.

However, these goals can no longer be achieved with appeals and dialog processes alone. In order to secure the city's ability to act in this process, it is to be examined by mid-2024 whether further instruments of special urban development law can be sensibly used beyond the existing "simple" "inner city" redevelopment area and the underlying 2022 inner city concept. To this end, the planning committee decided to initiate preparatory studies in November 2021.

Special urban development law as a core instrument of the transformation process

Preliminary development goals from the initiation resolution of 04.11.2021

With its initiation resolution of November 4, 2021, the planning committee of the City of Aachen commissioned the administration to carry out preparatory investigations in accordance with Section 141 BauGB. The development goals and main suspected redevelopment aspects were summarized under the following headings:

• Existing redevelopment law, city center concept 2022
• Trade and commerce - maintaining and strengthening a vibrant city center!
• Environment and climate - take greater account of climate protection and the consequences of climate change!
• Mobility - realign the eastern city center as a city entrance and mobility hub!
• Housing - qualifying and strengthening the city center as a residential location
• Social affairs, security and order - developing a joint approach from an integrated perspective!
• Education, training and culture - anticipate upcoming changes!
• Public space and urban design - continue upgrades, take up new impulses!
• Real estate and existing buildings - investing sustainably in homes and neighborhoods!

Milestones and next steps

The preparatory studies are to be completed by summer 2024. A final report will assess and recommend sensible (legal) steps for the development of a future-proof eastern city center. The following steps are planned until then:

The instruments of special urban development law

Special urban development law is intended for special tasks that cannot be dealt with using general urban development law alone.

Its basic principle is concentrated support and demands over a limited period of time. It thus forms the backdrop for urban development funding on the one hand and enables the local community to exert greater influence on private property over this limited period on the other.

The special urban development law cannot be used arbitrarily. Its necessity for the receipt of urban development funding on the one hand and the extended sovereign powers on the other must be proven within the framework of "preparatory studies" in accordance with Section 141 BauGB.

These preparatory investigations begin with a "suspicion of redevelopment", i.e. the well-founded assumption that there is a lack of urban development, a particular need for upgrading, an undesirable downward trend or areas that are to take on new functions and tasks in the urban fabric. As a rule, this is a large number of individual suspicious facts that are investigated in a sensibly delimited investigation area.

At the end of the preparatory investigations - summarized in a final report - there is documentation of the urban development deficiencies, a recommendation as to whether and to what extent the instruments of special urban development law should be used and, if necessary, a proposal for a corresponding redevelopment statute.

Preparatory investigations are open-ended. Their outcome is largely dependent on the answers to the following questions:

• What development prospects and goals does the local community have for the area under investigation, and to what extent do these differ from the existing situation?
• Are other, less intrusive instruments sufficient to achieve these goals?
• How willing are private property owners in particular, but also tradespeople, residents and those affected, to voluntarily contribute to these goals?
• Does the city/municipality have sufficient resources available?

The redevelopment area derived from the preparatory investigations should only restrict those affected to the extent necessary to achieve the redevelopment objectives, but should not fall short of them.

For this purpose, various "rules of the game" can be defined - in some cases also spatially differentiated

• tax benefits
• municipal pre-emption rights
• reservations of approval for construction and real estate transactions until the
• Obligation to pay compensation for the increase in land value triggered by the redevelopment measure

reach. Where necessary, the municipality must carry out the regulatory and construction measures specified in Sections 147 and 148 of the German Building Code.

In order to prevent grievances from becoming entrenched during the preparatory investigation phase, the municipality is given the right to postpone construction projects for up to 12 months with the initiation decision. It is also granted the right to assert an obligation to provide information to private individuals in the area, insofar as this information is required for the investigation.

Overall, the special urban development law currently provides the most promising legal framework for a concentrated transformation, dialog and upgrading process for the eastern city center. Whether this assessment is confirmed will be examined as part of the preparatory studies.

Further information