TOWN.
LAND.
GREEN.
Welcome to the "Heinrich Hertz Campus" in the CITY of Birkenfeld. We would be happy to take you on a little journey through time and would like to present our concept and ideas to you on the following pages.
The barracks stood empty long enough and waited to be kissed from their slumber. We are ready! Let's roll up our sleeves together and make this place special. A place with radiance beyond the borders of the LANDkreis embedded in idyllic nature with lots of GREEN.
TOWN. COUNTRY. GREEN. describes what to expect.
"Take away electricity from the world, and light disappears; take away from the world the light-bearing ether, and electric and magnetic forces can no longer transcend space."
Heinrich Hertz
Physicist and namesake
1959 to present
Bundeswehr, asylum, wasteland, future
The Heinrich Hertz barracks in Birkenfeld, which had been used for military purposes since 1959, was finally abandoned at the end of 2017 with interim use as an independent reception facility for asylum seekers.
Consequently, the city of Birkenfeld initiated a feasibility study at the beginning of 2019 to define the subsequent use goals. On this basis, the procedure for the first access option for the approx. 23.4 ha area was initiated towards the BImA by means of a declaration of purpose.
The Heinrich-Hertz-Barracks should be sold to a private investor according to the goals of subsequent use. However, the efforts failed in late summer 2020 due to a lack of investors.
In autumn 2020, further activation options were explored under the leadership of the city mayor, Mr. Kowalski. The idea arose to found a community-dominated development company and to purchase the property. At the same time, talks were held with the Ministry of Economics and asked for financial support in developing the site.
The "Entwicklung-Gesellschaft Hertz Campus Birkenfeld mbH" was founded in spring 2022 by the city of Birkenfeld, the Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, the Volksbank Hunsrück-Nahe, the WVE GmbH and the FIRU mbH. After long negotiations with the BImA and the financial support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the development company was able to acquire the property in full in May 2022.
KONVERSION
The withdrawal of troops from the Heinrich Hertz barracks was a drastic event for the town of Birkenfeld. The structural-political effects can still be felt today. Orders for local businesses, purchasing power and jobs for civilian employees collapsed.
After several years of uncertainty and stagnation, the troop withdrawal now offers the opportunity to redesign the conversion area in the interest of orderly urban development and to provide the structural compensation for lost economic power for an economically relevant civil subsequent use. The conversion thus offers a considerable development opportunity in favor of a new functional quarter embedded in the Schönenwald.
The overriding goal of the conversion is therefore to open the barracks north of the town of Birkenfeld to the population for the first time and to transfer them to the urban planning and real estate recycling cycle. In particular, the functional separation is to be broken up and dissolved in favor of a multifunctional, integrated quarter.
REUSE CONCEPT
DEVELOPMENT PLAN (DRAFT)
The subsequent use concept defines various types of use on the area and will be transferred to the legal corset as part of the development plan that is currently being drawn up. The development plan regulates the possible development on the campus and also contains provisions for the use of the land. The city of Birkenfeld enacts the B-Plan as a statute. Under these conditions, this statute then creates building rights.
IT MEILE
Along the Magistrale, which runs from south to north, the focus is on settling companies from the IT, training/education and administration sectors. Innovative office concepts such as Hub&Home, MultiSpace concepts, ActiveOffice and coworking can be created in the buildings, which are primarily used as existing buildings, also with regard to resource conservation. In addition to companies from the service industry, leisure facilities, for example, can also settle.
BLESS YOU
The realization of a health campus in the heart of the property gives the quarter a unique selling proposition that is perceived supra-locally. In addition to a medical care center, a retirement home and a day-care center are also being built in the so-called “Ohr”. Training and apprenticeships also lead to added value for the city and the surrounding area. Subsequent use of the existing building is not planned due to the poor building fabric.
Opposite the river Ohr the secondary realization of living space takes place in the existing buildings for on-call staff (service housing) of the health campus and the industrial and craft park. There are considerations to supply the areas around the health campus with a bio-energetic local heating system. The subsequent use of the former central heating system is a good option for this.
240.000
SQUARE METERS OF CONVERSION AREA
20.000
SQUARE METERS OF TRAFFIC AREAS
15.000
SQUARE METERS OF PUBLIC GREEN SPACES
36.000
SQUARE METERS OF FOREST
TANNING & CRAFTS
The existing development and building fabric is ideal for the development of a business and craft park and reflects the inquiries from medium-sized craft businesses looking for space and buildings in the Birkenfeld area for their operational expansion.
KITA & SPORT & EVENTS
In addition to the settlement of a day-care center in the “Ohr” area, the former gym and sports hall is to be renovated with funding and made available to the city of Birkenfeld and the associated municipality as a multifunctional event hall.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
The conversion of the Heinrich Hertz barracks poses a significant challenge for the city of Birkenfeld and the development company. In a first step, the subsequent use concept is converted into a development plan. In addition, planning for the development of the plots of land and marketing are started.