The Isarcenter has shone in new splendor since it opened in early August: the shopping center on Unterhachinger Strasse in Ottobrunn was given a facelift for 35 million euros and a new extension was added that offers significantly more space than before, a modern glass façade and a parking deck on the roof having. In a second step, the existing building is to be renovated in order to offer even more shops from 2024 onwards.
The architecture is attractively designed, ceiling windows let in daylight, no comparison to the old Isarcenter, which had become quite old since it opened in 1971. The Württembergische Lebensversicherung as the owner had already presented the plans in 2017 and called the conversions a “revitalization” – the aim at the time was to create a modern attraction at the western entrance to Ottobrunn.
This has undoubtedly been successful, Mayor Thomas Loderer (CSU) likes the new look of the shopping mall: “I think it’s good, but we as a community have also put a lot of ambition into this project in the land use planning.” It was a success to build the new part of the Isarcenter on the former parking lot in its “integrated location that suits the urban planning”, says Loderer. “And not on a green meadow like in Brunnthal.”
However, the enthusiasm for the new wing was by no means widespread, especially shortly after the opening: customers on the Internet complained, for example, that the goods in the now 3,000 square meter Edeka supermarket were not logically arranged, that the Müller drugstore was significantly smaller or that the initially there were only three elevators but no staircase connecting the parking deck with the shops. The planners received a lot of criticism, especially for the unlit driveway, which was perceived as too narrow and without markings, and the only 200 parking spaces on the roof, as well as the coarse-grained subsoil there, which makes it difficult to push the shopping trolleys and shakes the goods wildly.
Upper limit lower edge: Only cars up to 1.95 meters fit through the driveway to the parking deck on the roof of the shopping mall.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
At the moment you can only drive there by car coming from Fahrrad Sperk via Daimlerstrasse and Benzstrasse. Because of the low entrance, only vehicles up to 1.95 meters high are permitted, which excludes cars with roof racks or a number of minibuses from the outset. There are no short-term parking spaces in the vicinity of the center. The building owner, Württembergische, is surprised that, according to a spokesman, higher vehicles also used the driveway during the construction phase. At the exit, you will be directed straight onto Unterhachinger Straße in the direction of Unterhaching, but if you want to go straight to the center of Ottobrunn, you have to go through the gas station next to the Isarcenter.
Mayor Loderer says that they are constantly identifying problems and then fixing them. As far as he knows, they will soon take action after the driveway, and it is also planned to provide more security for the very numerous parking spaces for bicycles in front of the main entrance of the center on Unterhachinger Straße, some of which are equipped with charging stations, after all it could happen that Children, whose parents load the bikes, meanwhile run into the street. In the meantime, a security band has been tightened. As a father of three, the fact that the driveway is not suitable for family buses also affects him personally. The mayor finds this situation “strange”. However, there will probably only be a solution for this once the existing building has been renovated and can be opened – according to the owner, probably in the second quarter of 2024.
Alternative side entrance: You can only get from the parking deck to the shops with shopping trolleys via three elevators. Pedestrians have recently been able to use a stairwell (entrance on the right edge of the picture).
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
Then the old underground car park to be renovated will be put back into operation, presumably with a higher ceiling so that the minibuses can also access it. This second parking option should also solve the traffic problem with access: This underground car park is to be approached from Unterhachinger Strasse – as has been the case since the car park was closed. And the elevators will no longer be without alternatives either; an escalator, which has already been installed in the new building, will connect the shopping center with the underground car park. In the meantime, however, there is also a solution in the new building for those people who like to avoid lifts, especially in times of a pandemic: You can use a stairwell, which is now marked with a small sign, to get from the parking deck to the shops, which may also cause traffic jams minimized by the three elevators. “We are finished with the first construction phase, but it is clear that everything can only run perfectly when the second phase is also completed. The overall concept is designed for this,” says the owner.
The new building is dominated by the significantly enlarged Edeka, which now also includes a drinks market. There is a separate meat sale, but the butcher Vinzenz Murr is represented externally with its own shop and snack bar in the center. The abolition of the cheese counter led to anger among many regular customers, in the new Edeka only plastic-packaged cheese is offered. Others complain about the cramped checkout area, which makes it difficult to maneuver the trolleys, even with the ultra-modern self-service checkouts. “The distance between the cash registers corresponds to the legal requirements,” explains an Edeka spokeswoman when asked, pointing out “that barrier-free and friendly shopping for families, senior citizens and people with disabilities is fundamentally important to us”. A self-test raises question marks in this regard.
Construction site next door: The old existing building is now being renovated. Among other things, a discounter and the then again enlarged drugstore are to be accommodated here.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
Other shops in the new area of the center are the Wunsch bakery, the Gustosa kebab snack bar, the Mocca bistro-café, a Vodafone shop with a mobile phone clinic, the Schlötke stationery shop, the “Oskar” hairdressing salon, a shoe and locksmith service, and the streamlined one Drugstore Müller, which will move back to a larger sales area in the old building in 2024.
It is still unclear which other shops will be represented there: general tenant Edeka “does not want to provide any further information on ongoing discussions, their content and future rental space distribution during the complete renovation”. As the SZ learned, a branch of the discounter Aldi is to take up most of the premises. The shoe retailer Deichmann is also said to be moving back there. The operator of a pharmacy, which is then open until the evening on Saturday, is apparently still being sought. However, negotiations with an electronics retailer are said to have already failed. Overall, the retail space will increase from 6,500 in the old Isarcenter to a maximum of 10,500 square meters once the renovation is complete.