Frankfurt’s abandoned ‘Paradieshof’ gets €4.5M lifeline after 17 years of decay
After 17 years of vacancy, Frankfurt’s 'Paradieshof' in Alt-Sachsenhausen may finally be revived. A construction cost subsidy of €4.5 million, covering 61% of the estimated total costs of €7.4 million, has been made available for renovation or new construction. The Municipal Development and Property Corporation (KEG) originally purchased the property in 2010 for around €1.3 million.
The 'Paradieshof', built in the 1960s, was initially a guesthouse and residential building. It was abandoned in 2008 and has remained vacant since. Two previous attempts at reviving the site—an architectural competition in 2010 and a conceptual process in 2015—failed due to lack of funding. Now, city officials plan to submit a proposal in autumn for a new conceptual process to use the site for housing, commercial space, and cultural offerings.
The new conceptual process envisions mixed-use development with two-thirds residential space and one-third commercial. Cold rents are projected at €12 to €14 per square meter. The CDU faction in Römer is pushing for a stronger cultural focus, proposing subsidized live-work studios for artists and a publicly accessible ground-floor café with space for live music and small events. The successful bidder will receive exclusive access to the property for one year to refine the concept and submit a building application, followed by a hereditary building lease. A small festival held this summer demonstrated the potential of cultural use, highlighting the potential revitalization of Alt-Sachsenhausen and the 'Paradieshof'.
With the new subsidy and proposed conceptual process, the 'Paradieshof' in Alt-Sachsenhausen may finally be revived after nearly two decades of vacancy. The city's plans for mixed-use development and cultural offerings aim to revitalize not only the site but also the surrounding area.
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