Frankfurt: Günthersburgpark is growing
The green area in Frankfurt’s north end is to be expanded by 3.7 hectares by 2026. Construction work is expected to begin next year.
Günthersburg Park is growing. By the end of 2025, the city will expand the facility to include the 3.7-hectare former workshop site in the north. The plans for this were presented by employees of the green space office at the meeting of local advisory board 3 (Nordend) on Thursday. The panel unanimously approved the 11.4 million euro picture. Citizens also praised the planning.
The idea of enlarging Günthersburgpark is old. As early as the 1990s, there were considerations about the first expansion above the historic site, explained Christine Hennebrüder from the Parks and Gardens Office. Since 2014, work has been in progress to add the depot to the park. There were round tables with district politicians from Bornheim and the Nordend as well as actors who are active in and around the park. The main results are that the old facility is relieved, there are offers for children, new trees are planted and the area is not overloaded.
The result is, above all, another large meadow bordered by hedges and trees. There should be three “special places”, Hennebrüder: A fitness facility is planned on Wetteraustraße, which will offer equipment next to the space for floor exercises. A playground with toilets is to be built adjacent to the site of the former garden center Friedrich, where residential buildings will be built in the coming years. For this purpose, around 160 children were asked who primarily wanted climbing equipment, water games and a cable car. At the highest point of the park, the city will create a viewpoint.
The expansion was connected to the existing paths, the paths should have a light asphalt surface, said Jürgen Burkert from the Parks Office. For water-bound surfaces, employees lack the ability to speak them. The new plants would be selected to cope with the climate. The area above the historic park was also addressed, said Hennebrüder. For example, new trees are to be planted in the meadow. This has no effect on events at the Riederwald adventure playground or the Stoffel at the Stalburg Theater. In addition, the paths will be renewed. The dog run area on Wetteraustraße is getting smaller. There should no longer be a path through the site.
A construction and financing proposal should be submitted before the end of 2022 and a decision by the city council should be obtained, Hennebrüder announced. Demolition work and unsealing can then begin immediately after the daycare centers, which will be housed in the container system on the company premises until the summer holidays of 2023, have moved out. Hennebrüder expects the demolition to take six months. The new building is expected to start in 2024, “then we can be finished by the end of 2025”.
Members of the local council and citizens praised the plan. The pandemic has made it clear how limited the current area is, said Mayor Karin Guder (Greens). The plans enriched the park, said Rüdiger Koch (SPD). The only criticism was that no lighting is planned; mainly because of species protection, as Rosemarie Heilig (Greens), head of the environmental department, who was in the audience, explains.