Werne. By sharing a space with the city marketing department, bookseller Hubertus Waterhues wanted to breathe new life into the former Herren Kroes/Schmersträter fashion house on Bonenstraße. This dream has now been shattered. Both partners are withdrawing from the project.
At the beginning of January 2024, Bücher Beckmann wanted to open at the new location. This was intended to ensure more customer frequency in the city center and at the same time secure the future of the bookstore. There were repeated delays.
Andreas Thiveßen, a Hausgesucht partner and thus the owner of the property, admitted that there were problems with a closed funding pot and hurdles when applying for a new project. A race against time that Thiveßen has now lost. The shareholders’ meeting of Werne Marketing GmbH decided to withdraw before the summer holidays. This means that Hubertus Waterhues and Bücher Beckmann’s big plans are also over.
“It has to be a good fit for all parties and would have been a good symbiosis,” said Thiveßen, regretting the withdrawal of the city marketing department in an interview with WERNEplus. The project has made progress behind the scenes, but the approval of the funding, combined with subsidized loans, has still not been received. “So unfortunately we can’t go any further. We can’t start before then, otherwise we’ll lose the funding,” explained Andreas Thiveßen, who has now initiated new planning for the upper floor.
Work on the former Herren Kroes/Schmersträter fashion house on Bonenstraße is not progressing. Archive photo: Wagner
The owner’s idea is that the place where the Werne Marketing GmbH team was supposed to work could now be used to create furnished apartments for younger or older people. “We have applied for a change of use,” says Thiveßen.
“Since it was not possible to predict whether and when the funding would arrive, the shareholders’ meeting, mayor and management agreed to make use of the special right of termination.”
Lars Werkmeister, Managing Director of Werne Marketing GmbH
Lars Werkmeister, Managing Director of Werne Marketing GmbH, sent a written statement upon request. It reads: “With the rental agreement for Bonenstraße 3 signed in February 2023, Bücher Beckmann and we have put a good concept for Werne on track, which we continue to believe in. We very much regret that not much has happened in terms of construction since the signing and only planning work has been carried out. We have discussed the situation with the landlord many times. He has signaled to us that implementation of the project in the current situation is only possible if funding is available for the project. Since it was not possible to foresee whether and when the funding would come, the shareholders’ meeting, mayor and management agreed to make use of a special right of termination. Now that the termination has taken place before the holidays, we will now examine how things will proceed. The next steps will then be determined at the next shareholders’ meeting.”
Overall, after many good developments, this case is a small setback for the city center and of course also for the city’s marketing, continued Werkmeister. The aim of the project was to revitalize the connection between Konrad-Adenauer-Straße and Steinstraße and to create new attractiveness. “It shows how important, but difficult, the role of the owners is for the development of the city center these days,” explains the city’s marketing manager.
“We feel very comfortable on Magdalenenstrasse and don’t necessarily have to leave!”
Hubertus Waterhues, Managing Director of Bücher Beckmann
Hubertus Waterhues from Bücher Beckmann has also made use of his right of withdrawal. “I don’t see that the building will be ready for occupancy in the foreseeable future. If it were just a matter of two or three months or minor details, then we would have waited. But as it is, I don’t have the planning security,” says the bookseller.
Waterhues doesn’t want to slam all doors shut. “We can certainly talk again once the cards have been reshuffled. But at the moment, one thing is clear to Bücher Beckmann: We feel very comfortable on Magdalenenstrasse and we don’t necessarily have to leave.”
