Hürth is planning a new city center: Agora project for lively community!

Hürth is planning a new city center: Agora project for lively community!

The city of Hürth recently made significant progress in the development of the former district house site. The main committee, which decided to buy the main building, sent an important signal. However, there will soon be a change in this building, in which the Somnia Clinic and the St. Ursula Senior Center are currently housed. The institutions mentioned have already announced their extract. In addition, there is agreement with the state of North Rhine -Westphalia on the acquisition of the neighboring police building after the police center was moved to Bergheim. Mayor Dirk Breuer said optimistically: "All contracts are at the notary."

The project, which is known under the project title "Agora Hürth", aims to create an urban center that combines the Hürther population more. The Agora, a central meeting place in antiquity, is taken here as a model. At a well-attended information event of the CDU in the Hermann-Lang-Haus, the mayor represented how the largely unfinished center of the city can finally be completed with this project.

Central elements for the new city district between Bonnstrasse, Hürther Bogen, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße and the old cemetery are a city library and the music school that is supposed to move. The project comprises a total area of around 23,000 square meters. Here the city plans to create a so -called “third place”, which is supposed to offer attractive opportunities for living, working and learning for citizens and visitors. Breuer hopes that this new center will be recognized not only as a place of residence, but also as a cultural meeting point.

A challenge that the mayor asked is the impending fate of the main building. If vacancies, it could develop into a "scrap property", which would be particularly problematic in a central location. In recent years, the city has already bought land from the old district house, which previously belonged to several owners, including foreign funds.

In order to successfully implement the "Agora" project, the city relies on financial support from the structural change fund, which was launched after the lignite phase-out. Mayor Breuer explained that Hürth historically was severely impaired by mining and the associated restrictions in his urban development. Over 50 percent of the urban area had once been dredged, which led to the underdevelopment of a central city center.

The city of Hürth has already received funding for planning the individual elements, and the opportunities for further support are positive because the funding rate is 90 percent. In May, the Berlin architecture firm Baupiloten was commissioned to create a usage concept that is intended to form the basis for an urban development competition. In order to determine the needs of the potential users, a survey is carried out.

The implementation of the "Agora" project is expected to take a few more years. According to Mayor Breuer, the first excavator could roll in 2028, whereby this still depends on various uncertain factors. An important point remains the decision as to whether the existing buildings should be completely torn down or partially used. This comprehensive urban planning project could give the city of Hürth the urgently needed upswing and finally eliminate the unfinished character of the city center. For further details on the developments in Hürth and in particular on the "Agora" project, the report referred to mobil.ksta.de .