The Carsch House is being converted into a luxury department store at an estimated cost of 55 million euros. But because of the crisis at investor Signa, there is a standstill on the construction site.
Every day thousands of passers-by pass by the Carsch Haus construction site on Heinrich-Heine-Platz. The more than 100-year-old building between Kö and the old town is currently being renovated by the Signa Group and owner René Benko for an estimated 55 million euros, including Heinrich-Heine-Platz, and is an absolute prestige property in a prime Düsseldorf location. According to Signa, the completion of the entire project is planned for the end of 2024 and the opening of a luxury department store in spring 2025, but now, like on other Benko construction sites, there are problems: As with the Elbtower in Hamburg, there were also problems on the Carsch Haus construction site Work stopped.
At the groundbreaking ceremony at the end of March, Düsseldorf’s mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) said at a ceremony with around 100 guests: “The groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new chapter for Heinrich-Heine-Platz and the Carsch-Haus. I am very pleased the enhancement of this central location, which represents an important link between Schadowstrasse/Königsallee and the old town with the Rhine.”
Around six months later, the mood of Düsseldorf’s mayor has changed. Keller told the “Rheinische Post”: “We are watching the standstill on Signa’s construction sites with concern, especially at the Carsch House and at Heinrich-Heine-Platz. These prestige projects must be completed with top priority.”
Millions of dollars in bills not paid
But how this will succeed is currently questionable. Signa has also run into financial difficulties in the current construction crisis and urgently needs fresh money to pay bills. Signa’s “Immobilien Zeitung” explains that construction work on projects in Hamburg, Stuttgart and now in Düsseldorf has been stopped due to “market circumstances”.
Invoices to contracted construction companies are said to have not been paid at the locations. The result: According to the “Rheinische Post”, more than 70 workers were withdrawn from the construction site at the Carsch House because Signa had not yet paid bills amounting to millions. For the city of Düsseldorf, this is a particularly low blow in the development of the city center. The traffic routing on Heinrich-Heine-Allee was changed especially for the construction site and the Carsch-Haus is located directly at the exit of the “Heinrich-Heine-Allee” stop, the most important hub in the city after the main train station, where thousands of people go every day now take a longer look at a construction fence in a prime location.
2023-11-02 23:11:22
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