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New life for Delmenhorst: Former department store becomes an educational oasis!
In Delmenhorst, the area of the former Hertie department store is being redesigned to create a vocational school and living space.
New life for Delmenhorst: Former department store becomes an educational oasis!
The city of Delmenhorst is getting serious about redesigning its city center: now that the demolition of the former Hertie department store has been completed, planning is already underway for a new use of the open space. As the city administration reports, an urban development competition is being held, which includes, among other things, the construction of a vocational school. The first results of this competition are expected in October 2025 and are intended to form the basis for the future design of the area. In this way, the city is taking up the trends of modern urban development, which is also supported by transformation research, in order to combat vacancies and structural decay and at the same time take advantage of new opportunities for sustainable urban development.
“We are confident that we can create a lively city center after the Hertie building is demolished,” emphasizes the city administration. In order to increase the attractiveness of the pedestrian zone in the short term, ideas for an interim use of the area are already being developed. Sporting activities, mobile seating and smaller events are very popular in order to enliven the cityscape.
Integration of new concepts
The competition not only looks for concepts for the vocational school, but also suggestions for the remaining sales areas. These are part of a comprehensive transformation process that attempts to meet the demands of a modern city. “We are thinking of radically new uses that meet the needs of citizens,” said a city representative. The findings from the ExWoSt research project “From urban redevelopment to urban transformation strategy”, which examines the transformative potential of urban redevelopment, also play a role here.
On the other side of Bebelstrasse, a new residential area called “Kirchenquartier” will also be built, which will also be integrated into the urban planning. The creation of living space and the establishment of shops and restaurants should further strengthen the district.
Pleasing developments
In addition to the competition in Delmenhorst, a similar project in Düsseldorf shows how important innovative neighborhood concepts are. There, the VIERZIG549 project, which was built on a former industrial site, has already made significant progress. Exciting ideas that combine living, working and gastronomy were implemented under the supervision of top-class expert jurors.
A preliminary building permit was recently issued there for three new building sites. The district attaches great importance to a high quality of stay and the combination of urban life with green spaces. Over half of the planned 1,100 residential units have already been realized. This shows that municipal transformation projects can certainly be fruitful and could therefore serve as a role model for Delmenhorst.
The city administration of Delmenhorst is optimistic that the planned measures can not only make the city center more lively, but also more sustainable, while at the same time addressing the citizens' desire for an attractive and functional urbanity. The results of the planning in the coming months are eagerly awaited.
For further information on this exciting topic and progress in urban development, visit the relevant publications Delmenhorst.de, DIH AG as well as BBSR.