Chronicle
According to the plans of the city and a collective of architects, a leisure area was to be created on the site of the Urfahraner annual market in Linz. Because there is a lack of money, the bathing bay including the sandy beach might not become a reality.
There are big plans for the area on the Urfahraner side of the Danube. At the fairgrounds, part of the asphalt is to be removed for more greenery and for a large bay that opens onto the Danube. Exactly this heart of the project might, so to speak, fall into the water for cost reasons.
City cost tripled
The city of Linz originally assumed a total cost of three million euros, says planning councilor Dietmar Prammer (SPÖ) in an interview with ORF Upper Austria, “but we now assume that we have to estimate around nine million for this”. A check by the civil engineering office has shown that this sum does not include the costs for possibly contaminated excavation material.
The costs are also 1.5 million euros higher than the calculations of the architect collective that came up with the plans. Andreas Henter from the architect collective GUT says: “If you put that in relation to the area of 20,000 square meters, the city of Linz would invest around 400 euros per square metre.”
City considers stripped down version
The costs appear to be too high, at least for the time being. Ironically, the bathing bay should fall victim to the savings plan. Prammer assumes that the attractiveness of the bank area and the unsealing of the area will be promoted.
Bathing bay in Urfahr too expensive
In Linz, a leisure area with a water bay and sandy beach was planned in the area of the Urfahraner fair. But the bathing bay might now fail due to the costs.
However, the architects do not want to simply accept this slimmed-down version. Without a water bay, the project would only be half as sexy. So they want to prioritize and start with the bay. City councilor Prammer wants to discuss the issue with all parties, but he currently assumes that the project will be postponed.