Mysterious advertisement

23.6 million euros for a site that doesn’t exist

There are already many business parks around the Westautobahn.

(Bild: Einöder Horst)

A twelve-hectare business park near Vöcklabruck and one kilometer from the Westautobahn freeway was offered for sale to corporations or large companies on the Internet. There was explicit mention of a large site. Many details were described. But the property does not exist.

At €44 million, a villa on Lake Wolfgangsee is still the most expensive property offered on the internet in Upper Austria. In the middle of the week, a twelve-hectare concrete building site near Vöcklabruck suddenly took second place for €23.6 million (3% estate agent commission not included).

197 euros per square meter
The company was looking for corporations or larger, reputable companies willing to pay 197 euros per square meter. The site is one kilometer away from the A1 motorway. Trucks would be allowed to drive on all access roads and the infrastructure would be taken care of.

Mayors know nothing
"I don't know anything about a business development area of this size. It can't be on our municipal territory," said Vöcklabruck Mayor Peter Schobesberger (SP). His colleagues Peter Harringer (VP) from Regau and Jürgen Berchtaler (SP) from Pinsdorf as well as Rudi Hemetsberger, a member of parliament from the Vöcklabruck district, are also unaware of such a huge site. Not surprisingly. The company site does not even exist.

Company rows back
"I have to rethink and reformulate the advertisement," explained the contact person named in the advertisement to the "Krone". He is the managing director of a company that, according to its own definition, specializes in gastronomy real estate.

He was not referring to one property, but several, which intermediaries had mentioned to him as possible company locations. The areas would first have to be dedicated for business settlements. However, he had spoken to some municipalities. The ad was deleted shortly after the phone call