Abandoned buildings in Rue de Hollerich is breathed into new life

In Rue de Hollerich, in the immediate vicinity of the concert hall the studio, they immediately catch the eye: abandoned, bricked up houses with dilapidated facades, covered with graffiti. The house right next to a car workshop is particularly striking, where garbage mountains are stacked in the entrance area. But not only this property is empty. The adjacent houses are also uninhabited, bricked up and revealed. The windows were closed to prevent the penetration of unauthorized persons.

« Before they stood empty, these buildings housed the headquarters of the Luxembourg scouts, » explains Jürgen Primm, director of Landimmo Real Estate. But after the closure, there were undesirable incidents. « Some homeless people had occupied the buildings. At the beginning we were able to handle it, but later it became criminal. In the last incident before the pawning, the police even had to intervene – a person sought was taken up in one of the houses, » says Primm.

Contrary to the widespread assumption, the buildings do not belong to the city of Luxembourg, but the real estate company « Vieille Garde Immo 61 ». Their owners belong to the Heintz van Landewyck family. The facades of the houses are under the protection of the « Institute National Pour Le Patrimoine Architectural » (INPA) and are among those buildings that benefit from the classification as a national cultural heritage. Each house offers a living space of around 200 square meters. A Portuguese worker lived in one of the buildings until his retirement – since then it has been empty.

50 to 70 new apartments

The plans for redesign are currently in the final coordination with the capital. « We hope to be able to start developing in one to two years. In the best case, construction work will start 2027, » said Primm. It is planned to convert the houses into several plots and to create new apartment buildings with 50 to 70 residential units. Only the historical facades should be preserved and restored. Behind it are modern buildings with several inputs – a central requirement of the INPA. A joint parking lot is also planned from which the apartments will be accessible as in a larger residential complex.

The units are to be offered for sale in different sizes – from the compact studio to apartments with three or four rooms. However, technical analyzes on the construction project are still pending. « The final validation of the technical project for the implementation of the pap is still missing. Of course, this affects the final design, » says Primm.

Complex implementation of the pap

The roots of the project go back over a decade. With the new general development plan (PAG) of the city of Luxembourg, the long -term industrial use of the area was questioned. At the same time, the company Paul Wurth hired its industrial activities on the site, while Landewyck was able to open a new factory elsewhere and could open around 20 hectares.

In this context, the idea of ​​a comprehensive urban renewal – including a move of the CNS. The detailed plan based on it « Pap Nei Hollerich » was created on the basis of the PAG from 2021, signed by the then Interior Minister Taina Bofferding and final in 2024. However, the implementation remains complex – among other things because of the large number of public actors such as Luxtram and CFL who are involved.

This text appeared in the original at “Virgule“. Translation and editing: Elena Arens.