Nuremberg’s mayor Marcus König (CSU) has had the key to the Kaufhof branch in the city center in his pocket for a day now. The city bought the property two months ago and all formalities have now been completed. The city is said to have paid around 30 million euros for it. After the department store closed, the aim was to prevent further vacancies in the city. Because the Nuremberg pedestrian zone is changing. Taped-up shop windows currently dominate, especially in Breite Gasse, the former main shopping street.
Central contact point in the city
That’s why the idea came about to turn the former Kaufhof into a center for education. Representatives of the city of Nuremberg, the NürnbergMesse, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Crafts, the Nuremberg Georg Simon Ohm Technical University, the Nuremberg Technical University and the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg have signed a corresponding declaration of intent. The signatories want to bundle their educational offerings and create a common, central contact point in the city.
IHK is looking for alternative accommodation
A feasibility study will now examine various possible uses for the listed property, which may not be demolished. The universities could imagine a welcome center for their students in the old Kaufhof, it was said at the signing. There could also be space for the Bafög position. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce wants to move its further training academy to the city center – the current location on Walter-Braun-Straße on the outskirts of the city needs to be renovated, says IHK general manager Markus Lötzsch.
The “Citypoint” should also benefit
The feasibility study should also examine whether the former department store could be suitable as a conference center. “In Nuremberg there is a lack of rooms for conferences with between 300 and 1,000 participants,” says mayor König, who is also head of the trade fair’s supervisory board. Another vacancy in the pedestrian zone should also be taken into account. The former “Citypoint” shopping center right next to the Kaufhof in Breite Gasse has been empty for many years.
The city is still looking for an investor
“After it became known that the city had acquired the Kaufhof, interest in this property increased,” says König. For him, this is proof that the city can be a source of inspiration. “We are now making the bride pretty with the feasibility study,” he explains. However, the city does not have the money to further develop the property. The aim is therefore to find an investor who will buy the Kaufhof from the city again. If 50 or 60 percent of the space is already rented, it would be much easier, says König.
Also included: culture, food and trade
Until the time comes and the first educational institutions move into the building, interim uses are being considered. These can be exhibitions, concerts, theater performances, says economics consultant Andrea Heilmaier (CSU). She could also imagine pop-up stores. Because: Even if education dominates on the upper floors, retail and restaurants are still possible on the ground floor, says Heilmaier.
