Vote in the community

Saalfelden narrowly says “yes” to the new Kika project

The Kika building will be rededicated and revitalized. This was decided by the city council on Monday evening.(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

New stores, an indoor playground and rooms for clubs and young entrepreneurs: the Saalfelden town council voted 13 to 11 in favor of repurposing the former furniture store.

The Kika building, which has been vacant since July 2023, will be filled with life. On Monday evening, the municipal representatives of the Pinzgau town voted in favor of a rezoning by a very narrow margin: 13 votes to 11. This clears the way for the two Pinzgau entrepreneurs Patrick Müller and Klaus Wallner to fulfill their future project. In an initial reaction, the two expressed their delight to the "Krone" newspaper: "This is also a sign to the citizens and entrepreneurs. It shows that Saalfelden has the courage to make change possible."

Entrepreneurs Patrick Müller (l.) and Klaus Wallner want to lead the building into the future.(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

Stores, playground, rooms for clubs
As reported, Müller and Wallner spent over a year working on the project for the building, which was erected in 1993 and has around 10,000 square meters of retail space. Most recently, they also made cuts: they removed the well-known Müller drugstore chain. However, the Lidl, Action and Kare discount stores are fixed. In addition, an indoor playground for youngsters is to be created on one floor. The entrepreneurs are also offering space for young entrepreneurs and clubs.

We want to revitalize Saalfelden with this decision, which also includes preventing vacancies.

Thomas Haslinger, Vize-Bürgermeister Saalfelden (ÖVP)

Resistance had recently formed in the town, as town center merchants feared a loss of sales. In addition, the town's politicians had already committed to revitalizing the town centre several years ago. This was the main reason why the SPÖ around Mayor Erich Rohrmoser - alongside the Greens - was against the project. They did not want any more stores on the outskirts of the city and no new competition for the city center stores, they said.

This was opposed by the Citizens' Forum, the FPÖ and the ÖVP around Deputy Mayor Thomas Haslinger, who recognized a "win-win situation" for the city. However, "as a municipality, we will also keep a close eye on the selection of tenants".