Munich: Construction of the new wholesale market hall is put out to tender – Munich

A new chapter has opened in the now seemingly never-ending story of a new wholesale market hall: On Wednesday, the city council decided with a large majority to put the large-scale project in Sendling, which had been under discussion for many years, out to tender throughout Europe. This step had become necessary according to a non-public draft resolution by the municipal department after a legal opinion. With the new developments, the progress will be delayed again by months. However, the city council maintains that the project should be completed by 2030.

(Photo: SZ map: Hosse/Mapcreator.io)

Last November, the Büschl group of companies invested in the previous investor, the transhipment center wholesale market (UGM), and presented their plans for the area. In addition to the new wholesale market hall, these also include the construction of apartments and offices. However, according to the new legal assessment, a direct award to the investor is no longer possible.

The Büschl Group could still have an advantage because the city council wants a concept with apartments. The tender was “not tailored to one person,” said City Councilor Kathrin Abele (SPD). Other applicants could participate, everything is open. Most recently, the Stadtwerke, as a municipal subsidiary, had expressed an interest in the area.

The most important goal is that the wholesale market stays in Munich, said Abele. It must now go forward, “there is no more time to throw everything over”. Green party leader Anna Hanusch had previously made a similar statement. 2030 as a target is “very ambitious”, there is no point in switching back now. “I hope we can find a good design that can then be implemented in a partnership.”

Alexander Reissl (CSU) also said he was glad that the path he took five years ago would be continued. Before moving to the CSU, he had helped to decide on the fundamental change of course to an investor model as SPD parliamentary group leader.

Recently, there was a lack of understanding among the dealers about the city’s actions. “If it becomes apparent that nothing will happen with the new wholesale store in Munich by 2030, then we will have to look around for a location outside the city limits again in the near future,” said Günther Warchola, President of the Bavarian Fruit Trade Association.

Simply a hall for groceries. If only it were that easy

The dealers could well imagine a new building by the city. That’s how it was originally planned. In a joint amendment, the opposition factions The Left/The Party and ÖDP/Munich-List called for the city to return to this plan and build itself.

“If you maneuver yourself into a dead end, you should turn around and not go beyond it,” said Left Party leader Stefan Jagel. The city had to take complete control of the project again, first building the wholesale market and later building housing on the site. Giving up urban planning was a “fatal mistake”. According to Jagel, the city would have much more influence on the rental prices of the apartments being built there if it built it itself.

Nicola Holtmann (ÖDP) agreed in principle, but did not want to see the city in a “dead end”, but in a “fork in the road”. After all, you are back “at zero, where we were five years ago”. Her group also rejects an investor solution because it makes the wholesale market hall a minor matter. It’s mostly about offices and apartments. However, Munich does not need “an investor project, just a hall for fruit and vegetables”. And she can do it herself, as you can see from the construction projects for the Volkstheater and Interims-Gasteig.

Richard Progl (Bavarian Party) recalled that according to the original plan, the new wholesale market hall should have been ready for two and a half years. In the meantime, the halls were almost falling apart, and he described their condition as “dangerous to the public”. His parliamentary group FDP/Bavarian Party will still vote for the draft resolution of the municipal department “so that the process is not stopped again”.

Dangerous? The opinions are divided

Vehement opposition came from Alexander Reissl (CSU). There were “a whole series of factual reasons” why the proposal from the municipal department – i.e. the realization by the city – was rejected at the time. Above all, the logistics of the hall were not right.

This was underlined by the municipal officer Kristina Frank (CSU). The stop of the own planning was correct, “the self-construction at that time provided for an unsuitable hall”. She rejected the description of the current condition of the halls as “dangerous to the public”. You have to “invest a lot” because they have been neglected for decades, but the money – the maintenance will cost 30 million euros in the next few years alone – is “not wasted”.

Because of the monument protection, the halls would be preserved, albeit with a different use at some point. According to Frank, the city would have wanted to conclude a leasehold contract much earlier; that because of the corona pandemic the investor thought more intensively again, but is “understandable”.

The tender can now “go live from tomorrow,” said the municipal officer, so that one knows “what the market has to offer” before the summer break. Then the next chapter can be written in the wholesale market hall.

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