The historic station building in Bieber has now been scaffolded and the roof will be repaired in the coming months.
© Summer
There are some eyesores in the city, the station building in Bieber is one of the most visible. The building erected in 1896 has been falling into disrepair for years, and there is a large hole in the roof. The unsightly condition is a constant nuisance, in letters readers complain about the ruin.
Offenbach – But for a few days there has been hope for the monument again: At the end of February the building was scaffolded, the banner of a roofing company from the Main-Kinzig district can be seen on it. Local residents report that craftsmen cleared the building and put up supports inside. The client and his wife even allowed some neighbors to look inside the building and reported on their plans to accommodate two apartments and a restaurant in it.
Some of the Bieber people who have been initiated in this way make no secret of their joy, but also of their surprise at this step. “I have already seen the house collapse – that the renovation will finally begin, I did not expect that”, says one of the relieved. In fact, the renovation comes as a surprise, because for years a dispute between the owner-association and the city about monument protection paralyzed any progress.
Marcus Müller, whose “Society for Offenbacher Irritations” (Gefoi) acquired the station in 2009, confirmed to our newspaper that he was having the roof renovated and the building supported. In the coming weeks, the cover is to be repaired and restored according to historical templates. In coordination with the monument protection, it is to be covered with black double-troughed tiles.
He was shown historical pictures of the building, and therefore Müller would like to have dormers and wooden decorations restored in coordination with the monument authorities. “The negotiations are on the home straight, so we are currently counting on these implementation options,” he writes. The use of the building for apartments, which is indicated in relation to the neighborhood, is “a probable variant”, plans for an annex that is controversial in terms of monument protection have been put on hold. After the corona pandemic has ended, it will have to be seen whether a restaurant is realistic.
Rodgau Railway stations
The Bieber station is part of the Rodgau railway line, which opened in 1896 and which was further expanded in the following years. Like other stations on the route, the station is a reddish-yellow brick building. With the advent of the S-Bahn line, the stations lost their importance and were gradually sold. Restaurants and cafés are now housed in several former train stations along the route, for example in Heusenstamm (in 2006), then in Rodgau-Nieder-Roden and later in Rodgau-Jügesheim and Obertshausen.
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The impetus for the current work, but also for both parties to come together, was an order issued by the city in December (we reported): As the building threatened to collapse, the city ordered maintenance work at the expense of the owner company in the amount of around 242,000 euros . As city spokesman Fabian El Cheikh confirms, this resulted in new talks between the owner and the city – which now went much better than before. “The owner then took over the work we required himself,” reveals El Cheikh. The securing work on the building even went beyond what is required by the monument protection. “The client and his wife are very committed, and as a city we are therefore hopeful when it comes to the monument,” praised the city spokesman.
Agreement and renovation work come at the right time, the dispute of the past few years seems to have been overcome. “We are pleased that society is so committed and want to look ahead instead of back,” says El Cheikh.
From Frank Sommer
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