Freshly whitewashed facades and newly created inner courtyards make the progress in the large-scale renovation of the municipal foundation settlement Alte Heimat in Laimer Osten visible. Many of the predominantly elderly and financially weak residents have already been able to move into their renovated apartments.
However, there have not yet been any concrete plans for the Thomas-Wimmer-Haus, which rises eight storeys at Burgkmairstraße 9, in the complex that was built for Munich residents who had been bombed out after the war. And that despite the fact that many things there are no longer up to date, for example the shared bathrooms on the ground floor. Since the city no longer considers a refurbishment of the aging building to be sensible, it is to be demolished and replaced with a modern new building.
At a special meeting of the Laimer district committee (BA), Justin Krahé from the municipal department, client of the renovation and renewal of the settlement, presented the construction project. “It’s not an easy property,” Krahé admits. Additional requirements such as new energy standards made renovation more difficult. Burgkmairstraße is currently still supplied via a gas line. The public utilities would first have to check a connection to the district heating network, possibly via the Kiem-Pauli-Weg.
It is still unclear what will become of the “Autumn Leaves” day care
The apartment building from 1968 is still home to 60 senior citizens, most of whom live on the subsistence level. With a new replacement building, the municipal department as the client would gain 75 percent more building rights and thus significantly more space. Instead of the previous 98 apartments, 154 barrier-free residential units are to be built in the new building. Two percent will be specially tailored for wheelchair users.
20 percent of the new apartments are also intended for low-income nursing staff. The Psychosocial Counseling Center for Workers’ Welfare (AWO), which has previously been located in the building, is also to be expanded to 140 square meters. It is still unclear how the day care “Herbstlaube” will continue. Krahé fears that finding an interim location in Laim will not be easy for the municipal department.
Laim’s landmark: the Thomas-Wimmer-Haus.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
During the renovation, the residents are to be accommodated in vacant apartments in the foundation settlement and also outside. Although the municipal department will bear all the costs for this, the move poses a major challenge for most seniors – not least because of the bureaucracy involved. District representatives and residents are therefore demanding targeted support from the social community centres.
The project will cost around 50 million euros, around a third of which will be paid for by state subsidies. It is still completely unclear whether the lift, which was only installed in 2015 and is worth 800,000 euros, can be reused in the new building. Krahé speculates that it could possibly be accommodated in the city’s inventory.
Overall, the construction project was very well received by the Laimer committee. On March 10, the draft resolution is to be presented to the municipal committee of the Munich City Council. If the General Assembly votes in favor of the new building on March 23, demolition could begin by the end of next year. Krahé estimates that the new building will be ready for occupancy by 2029 at the latest: “But maybe we can do it earlier.”