Dispute with property developer

Municipality feels it is being led around by the nose

First floor and three upper floors: only the library, two doctors and a tattoo artist are rented.(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

Gswb has erected a new building in Kaprun. Almost no one is rented in. They are playing cat and mouse with the municipality. It often takes several weeks for the property developer to respond to emails. And when the municipality wanted to rent the building site itself for the citizens, they refused.

The building has been virtually empty for three years. A new building in the middle of Kaprun, handed over by the municipality to the non-profit housing association Gswb under building rights to strengthen the town center. Little has happened since then. Two doctors and a tattoo artist have rented space. The first floor, a space of several hundred square meters, is a building site. The floor above is empty. An eyesore in the middle of the tourist center of Kaprun.

Property developer rejects municipality as tenant
Kaprun's mayor, Domenik David (SPÖ), is angry: "We only ever receive inadequate answers from Gswb and are put off." The municipality wanted to rent the property itself in order to create added value for the residents. But the Gswb refused. At least the municipal library on the top floor was allowed.

We wanted to rent space, but they refused. We made inquiries and were put off. The Gswb is leading us around by the nose.

Domenik David, Bürgermeister Kaprun (SPÖ)

Most recently, the mayor wanted to have the repulsive first floor building site painted: "So that it at least looks a bit the same. The building site is horrible," said the head of the town. It took almost four weeks for the Gswb to reply. The request was rejected in a short email.

"It takes a lot of getting used to"
 Now the next annoyance. Gswb had the building wrapped itself. David comments: "At least there is a certain amount of will behind it." The mayor answers whether he likes the wrapping: "It takes some getting used to."

What really annoys him, however, is that Gswb has been stalling the municipality for months. Several inquiries were made: what concrete negotiations were being conducted, how many interested parties were there, how many interested parties had been rejected? There were no answers, or only unsatisfactory ones. Domenik David grumbles: "Gswb is leading us around by the nose."

All we hear from Gswb behind closed doors is that many things are unclear. In any case, the newly installed managing director, Ferdinand Hochleitner, has his hands full. The non-profit cooperative apparently has to be put on a completely new footing.