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fromFabian Scheuermann
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shut down
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Because of the poor building site next to an old arm of the Main, construction work for the new Froebel School in Offenbach is expected to be delayed. Criticism comes from the SPD.
The Offenbach Fröbel School is an all-day school with a focus on intellectual development. Children and young people with physical and motor disabilities also visit the facility in Offenbach’s Nordend. Because the old building is too narrow and not suitable for the disabled, a new building is to be built in the east of the city. But nothing happens on the property on Mühlheimer Straße. Now it is clear: The original schedule for the new building cannot be kept – and the costs increase.
Offenbach’s treasurer Peter Freier (CDU) puts it this way: The scheduled opening date in summer 2021 is “extremely sporty”. The main reason that the work has not yet started as planned is underground: A mixture of sand and clay makes building on the 10,000 square meter plot a challenge – and so does planning. You would have to ram and fill 1,000 piles eight meters deep into the ground before you could build on them. There are also possible remnants of war, as there was an anti-aircraft gun in the neighborhood. In recent months, however, the floor has not been inspected due to corona – due to possible evacuations.
“We are expecting one or two finds and this will have an impact on the construction period,” says Daniela Matha of the Offenbach project development company OPG, which is developing the project on behalf of another subsidiary of the city – the housing association GBO. “We didn’t expect the soil to be so problematic,” admits Freier. Matha says that a “serious estimate” of when the building is standing is “not possible”.
And then there are the costs: Instead of 24.5 million euros, there is now talk of “less than 30 million” (clients). The GBO is currently still looking for donors. And the regional council may have to be involved – even if clients hope that this will not be necessary. He hopes that the preparatory work will start in August.
City councilor Heike Habermann (SPD) sees her concerns that the new building is delayed – which has so far been negated – confirmed. “I’m pissed off,” she says. Because the situation at the old school location is scandalous: every morning there is a wheelchair jam in front of the only elevator in the building. And the young people who wear diapers would have to be wrapped on the floor because there were no suitable sanitary facilities. Habermann also doubts that the GBO could build the school faster than the city – with this argument the company was commissioned.
Either way, the situation of the 100 schoolchildren, including their teaching staff and support staff, will improve in the new building planned by the Frankfurt architects Mey: the rooms will be barrier-free and twelve small courtyards should guarantee access to the outdoors for everyone despite the heavily used property. Five washrooms and changing rooms will be created, as well as a swimming pool for therapeutic purposes, which other schools can also use. 150 people can be taught in the new building. It is geared towards “growing demand,” says Freier.
Because of the building plot, the idea of building apartments above the school was rejected, and the GBO also foregoes a solar system. A green roof is created. Rainwater ends up in the renatured Kuhmühlgraben – a channel there is planned.
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