The fund is part of the "City Center Tomorrow Future Process" and helps to create new experiences and visitor incentives for the city center, invite visitors to linger and strengthen local trade.

• Funding was provided for street design measures such as the "hanging gardens" in Körbergasse, the "edible city center" in Annahalle, street furniture at the market and the flower tubs in Kleinmarschierstrasse.
• One project stands out in particular: the "Years in Aachen" campaign, which was initiated by Martin Görg, representative of the Domviertel interest group.

The "Aachener Einzelhandel, Gastronomie und Handwerk stärken" fund, which was initiated in 2021 thanks to politically provided funds, is now in its fifth round. The support offer enables associations of at least three companies from the retail, gastronomy and craft sectors to receive up to 10,000 euros for events, street design measures and, more recently, the joint and temporary use or design of (vacant) stores and their store windows. Both actors from the city center and from the city districts are eligible to apply. Six months are planned for the implementation of the projects.

Since the start of the funding offer, almost 100 projects have been supported and, above all, the city center has been revitalized and upgraded as a result. These include 14 projects that are currently being implemented under the motto "Summer in the City". For example, street design measures such as the "hanging gardens" in Körbergasse, the "edible city center" in the Annahalle, street furniture at the market and the flower tubs in Kleinmarschierstrasse were supported.

Numerous events have also received financial support, including the "Music in unusual places in the cathedral quarter" project, the street festival in Jakobstraße during the construction period, concerts in the courtyard, the "Make Aachen colorful" campaign and the Brander wine festival. Another important component is the strengthening of existing networks and the creation of new ones. For example, the founding of the Hotmannspiefviertel and Initiative Starke Adalbertstraße interest groups was supported.

Future city center morning process
The fund is part of the "Future city center morning process" and helps to create new experiences and incentives to visit the city center, invite visitors to linger and strengthen local trade. The fund also aims to promote the commitment of local stakeholders and encourage them to implement their ideas. Cooperation between business people is also promoted.

One project stands out in particular: the "Years in Aachen" campaign, which was initiated by Martin Görg, representative of the Domviertel interest group.

Since the end of May, you can see from the windows of many stores how long they have been around in Aachen. "In the end, just over 260 stores took part in the campaign. That exceeded our expectations. We implemented the project in close cooperation with the twelve municipal interest groups. Together, we have added up around 10,690 years of Aachen's retail trade," says Martin Görg.

"Projects like 'Years in Aachen' are a good example of how even cross-district cooperation can succeed and create the image of an attractive Aachen retail sector. We would like to see many more of these in the future," says Jalina Maaßen, who manages the fund together with colleagues at the city's business development department.

Adalbertstraße and Dahmengraben
In the current phase, particular attention is being paid to Adalbertstraße and the area around Dahmengraben. Over the next few months, for example, Adalbertstrasse will be upgraded with banners and lighting elements and the Hotmannspiefviertel will be revitalized with a street festival and a wedding fair. In addition, street festivals at the theater and in Hartmannstraße, a beer festival, a summer event in the Domviertel and two events in the Frankenberger Viertel will be promoted.

It is currently no longer possible to submit applications for the fund. However, further application rounds are planned for the fall and next year.

In addition to the "Aachener Einzelhandel, Gastronomie und Handwerk stärken" fund, the city of Aachen supports the implementation of cultural evening events in the city center with the "Guten Abend, Aachen" fund of the night mayor. The "Ladenliebe" funding project also offers the opportunity to use stores with new concepts for up to 24 months. The "Smart Shopping Aachen" project supports retailers and restaurants with digitalization and enables a joint online presence with numerous services. A regulars' table is also held every six months for the retail and hospitality sectors, which is particularly useful for networking.

Information:
wifoe@mail.aachen.de

www.aachen.de/wirtschaft

www.aachen.de/nachtbuergermeister

www.aachen.de/ladenliebe

www.smart.aachen-shopping.de