On the site of the current town hall in Unterföhring, the municipality wants to create a multi-generation center after the administration has moved. Whether in the existing building or in a new building, there is disagreement.
For years, the activists in Unterföhring have wanted a place where the various social institutions and advice centers for all age groups can be found together. This should be centrally located and offer enough space so that all the committed offices, of which there are numerous in the municipality in the northern district of Munich, can bring their offers to as many interested citizens as possible. When the municipality decided to move its town hall from its current location on Münchner Strasse to a new building in the new town center, the possibility of doing this at the location of the current town hall suddenly seemed within reach. The municipal council has now officially confirmed this and unanimously voted in favor of creating a multi-generation center in the area of today’s town hall.
In the next step, the administration should draw up a detailed concept of which institutions would like to use the planned center and how, and which premises would be necessary for this. The impetus for this decision came from a joint application by the Senior Citizens’ Advisory Board, the Friends of Social Services and the Unterföhring Neighborhood Aid. Those involved have been considering for years what such a multi-generational center in Unterföhring could look like. Above all, the ideas include a common contact point where local social clubs such as Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo), the neighborhood help, the senior citizens’ advisory board, the VDK, the social services development association or the asylum helpers’ group can organize their cross-generational offers. But day care and assisted living for seniors should also be integrated into the house, and offers for dementia patients or inclusion projects are also conceivable.
The parliamentary group of the independent electorate Unterföhring (PWU) advocated that the community should strive for the preservation of the existing town hall building at least in its basic form in the further planning of the multi-generation center. The striking concrete building dates from the 1970s; Hardly anyone would give him a beauty prize. However, the PWU argued that the building was part of the local history and should therefore be seen as a source of identity for many citizens. In addition, parliamentary group spokeswoman Getrud Mörike pointed out that from an ecological point of view and in view of the existing climate crisis, it makes sense to renovate and adapt an existing building instead of giving preference to demolition and new construction from the outset. In the case of a renovation, the park and underground car park could also be retained.
The cause met with sympathy from some, but ultimately failed to convince the majority of the local council. A large number of local politicians spoke out against a determination and called for experts to first compare the advantages and disadvantages of a renovation with those of a new building. Manfred Axenbeck from the CSU emphasized the possibilities offered by a specially designed new building. The motion was ultimately defeated by a stalemate of 12 votes to 12.