City of Cologne chooses new location for fire station at Severinsbrücke!

City of Cologne chooses new location for fire station at Severinsbrücke!

The discussion about the city center fire station is simmering in Cologne: While the new building at the previous address on North-South Drive is in full swing, the city board has now agreed on a new interim location at Severinsbrücke. Loud ksta.de The fire brigade and rescue workers are to be temporarily housed on Löwengasse. The city council's real estate committee will meet on June 16 to finalize contracts for the use of the property.

This decision also sheds light on previous plans. The old Kaufhof headquarters on Leonhard-Tietz-Straße was once discussed as an interim solution, but this plan seems more unrealistic than ever. The city administration has now abandoned the project because the renovation costs are considered too high. The vacancies in the Kaufhof headquarters are only 150 meters away from the existing fire station, but the effort required for the renovation was too high for those responsible. Rundschau-online.de reports that the search for new alternative accommodation is now beginning again.

Challenges with the Kaufhof headquarters

The city has been negotiating the renovation work with the property owner, Swiss Life Asset Managers Germany, for two years now. What remains clear so far is that neither the planned community center nor offices have been occupied; the interim for fire and rescue station I was discontinued. The head of the building department, Markus Greitemann, is facing criticism from the ranks of the Greens and the SPD. The decision about the fire station seems like another mistake in light of the lack of progress at the Kaufhof headquarters.

The existing fire station, built in 1962 for 59 emergency services, is now severely overcrowded with over 160 emergency services. No wonder a new building is urgently needed. The city has contractually agreed to rent the Kaufhof headquarters until 2045 - an annual rent of 12.3 million euros that is due from the end of 2026. In view of the payments totaling around 310 million euros that have already been made by 2050, the question arises as to whether the city should not have sought a better solution here.

If the green should disappear

Another sticking point is the planned container guard in Max-Dietlein-Park, which is facing resistance from the neighborhood. Many citizens fear that this guard will be seen as unsustainable in one of the last inner-city green spaces. The decision about the new location on Löwengasse could undermine the container guard - but it remains to be seen how the city council will decide on July 3rd.

The Cologne fire department is crucial to citywide safety. In 2023, it recorded a total of 17,175 operations, of which 4,131 were carried out by the city center guard. A central location is not only important, but also essential, especially for major events in the city. While the search for the ideal interim location continues, the hope remains that the planning of the new building will go just as smoothly.