Children should actually play in the “Mahlerhaus” in the center of Berg am Laim. If the large garden in front of the building wasn’t so overgrown, it would be a nice place for a slide, swings and play equipment. That is roughly what Luise Mahler-Lenz wanted in her will: in 2017, ten years after her death, the property was to go to the city on the condition that the old farmhouse become a daycare center. Instead, it has been empty for years. At an on-site visit, local politicians vented their anger.
“I don’t understand the problem,” says Alexander Friedrich (SPD), chairman of the local district committee (BA). In his opinion, using the house as a daycare center is urgently needed given the poor supply of childcare places in the area. Nowhere else in the city are there as few childcare places for small children up to the age of three as in Berg am Laim. According to the Department for Education and Sport (RBS), the coverage rate for children between the ages of zero and three is only 27 percent. The average for the whole of Munich is 52 percent.
That’s why Friedrich gathered at Baumkirchner Straße together with some BA colleagues. “We really only do that when something is extremely important to us.” The representatives of the SPD, CSU, Greens and Left agree that something must finally be done now.
Negotiations between the foundation administration at the city’s social department, the executor and Mahler-Lenz’s adopted son have been going on for years. If the city cannot fulfill the terms of the will, the farmhouse and the area go to it. “We have the feeling that the heirs are playing for time,” says Fabian Ewald (CSU). He has the impression that the city “lets itself be fooled by the heirs”.
A spokeswoman for the social department rejects this. The accusation is “incomprehensible” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/.” Everyone involved worked intensively and constructively on a solution,” it says. However, it is “a very complex case constellation with many detailed questions, especially those that have to be clarified legally”. The reason for the delay is the death of the executor. The “appointed substitute executor” then had to get used to it.
The vacancy has left its mark
There were also difficulties caused by the pandemic: due to the infection control measures, the “necessary inspection of files” was only possible in “late spring 2021”. It was therefore probably only possible to negotiate further in the summer. At a digital meeting in October, they wanted to reach an agreement. However, “points that were believed to have been taken care of have been taken up again,” explains the social department. At the moment we are in constant exchange. “We hope to be able to conclude the negotiations in the next few weeks.” If, contrary to expectations, the negotiations should fail, “the corresponding claims will be asserted in court”.
Nils Dreier, the adopted son’s lawyer, also denies the BA’s alleged intentions: “The heir is interested in a solution and has absolutely no reason to delay an agreement.” One of the issues at stake in the negotiations is the question of “reimbursement of running costs for the period since 2017”. Dreier speaks of the city’s “considerable planning efforts” and also emphasizes the work on “a constructive and creative solution”.
When and if children can romp around in the Mahlerhaus remains unclear. It is clear that the conversion to a day care center is expensive. The vacancy has left its mark. In addition, the toilets are currently in a separate building on the neighboring property. Nevertheless, according to RBS, a house for children would be possible. Several concept studies have confirmed that the requirements of the legacy have been met and that a daycare center could be set up in the listed property.