2023-09-20 02:02:00
The plans for a new Vigaun municipal office are becoming more concrete once more – a piece of land has been purchased and planning is now starting for one of the largest projects in the municipality’s history.
In his first TN conversation as mayor in April 2013, Fritz Holztrattner (ÖVP) spoke of the need to renovate or even build a new municipal office, which was built in the early 1960s. Since February 2021, the additional problem has arisen that a ballroom or multi-purpose hall is also needed: the one at Neuwirt, the only one of its kind in the surrounding area, was demolished during renovation work.
Now the right place for such a project seems to have been found – just a few meters from the location of the existing office: the community has a (currently still built-up) 1359 m2 purchased a large piece of land between Steingassingerweg and the East parking lot and decided unanimously at their meeting on September 7th to have a new municipal office and an event hall with around 250 seats built there (this is approximately the size of the Neuwirtssaal, which was demolished in 2021, note). “With the resolution we are also authorized to carry out further preparatory work. Now we will obtain a cost estimate and then we will discuss further details at the next meeting in December,” says Mayor Holztrattner in the TN conversation. The costs for the project cannot be stated at the moment, “the prices currently vary so much that you can’t even make a serious estimate,” says Holztrattner.
Even if there is no cost estimate yet – it will be expensive
What is already certain, however, is that it will be one of the largest projects in the community’s history and will have a different financial dimension than the last major projects in Vigaun: the new recycling center plus the addition and renovation of the neighboring fire station in 2020 cost around two million euros, the new kindergarten before ten years around 1.9 million euros. In contrast, the land alone for the planned new municipal office cost around 1.8 million euros. “It mightn’t be more central, more open-minded and better for development; the owners of course also knew regarding the value of the property,” says Holztrattner. “There were also several private inquiries, so I’m grateful that the owners approached the community and we were the first to offer.”
SPÖ local councilor Michael Pann also says: “Of course, with a price per square meter of 1,200 euros, you’ll be amazed. But above all, the large parking lot right next to it is a dream situation, much better than the old location, and if we don’t buy it, then buy it who else.”
The single-family home on the property is currently still inhabited, “but we still need a planning phase anyway, then you can look for something new in peace,” says mayor Holztrattner. He hopes to be able to complete the planning in 2024 so that construction can begin in spring 2025. In the TN conversation, he does not consider an architectural competition for the project to be absolutely necessary, but this also needs to be clarified in detail.
There are still many question marks when it comes to the event hall
A lot is still open for the desired event hall. “The goal is definitely that not only local events take place there, we want to be more widely publicized. I see potential for one or another event, seminars, congresses, weddings, cabaret evenings, etc.,” says Holztrattner. “But first the basic concept has to be in place, then we can start looking for someone who will do it with the intensity with which we intend to do it.”
In order to get a better picture, the municipal council, together with the local club representatives, examined local offices and event halls on a trip to Oberndorf, Hallwang, Göming and Anif in 2022. In Göming, for example, the kitchen and bar are integrated into the hall, says Holztrattner, and the whole thing is rented out by the community itself, around 150 times a year – for celebrations, but also for congresses, seminars, cabaret, etc.
What happens to the current municipal office will only be decided following the move to the new one: “The good thing is that we don’t have to move during construction, but can continue to work in peace,” says Holztrattner. “When the project is finished, we will see what is possible at the current location. If you renovate it, it has to be a proper renovation – the house is a good 60 years old, has oil heating, old windows, no insulation and the roof “It urgently needs to be renewed. We have to calculate whether it will pay off.”
In any case, people in the local council are happy when it finally becomes concrete: “We have been dealing with this tiresome issue for more than ten years,” says SPÖ local councilor Pann. “We’re happy when there’s finally peace here.”
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