City Vice Dankl:

“Is a fall from grace in terms of housing policy”

The Schwarzstraße elementary school has to move out, apartments are to be built.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

130 apartments are to be built in Schwarzstrasse. However, not a single one of them is to be eligible for funding, which upsets the city's deputy mayor. He appeals to Admont Abbey, the owner, to "give something back" to the townspeople.

Deputy Mayor Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus) takes a hard line on the planned project in Salzburg's Schwarzstraße. The fact that only privately financed apartments are to be built on the Franciscan nuns' site is a thorn in his side due to the already high housing costs in the provincial capital and, for him, a fall from grace in terms of housing policy if it is implemented as planned.

Kay-Michael Dankl hopes that the project will be changed.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

But: the project with 130 apartments between Salzach and Schwarzstrasse has not yet been decided. "The municipal council has never been involved with this project," says the city deputy.

Change of zoning as a possible step
The City of Salzburg could stipulate the construction of a certain number of subsidized apartments by changing the zoning. This has always been the case with new zoning in the provincial capital since the new government took office last year. The Admont Abbey project dates back to the previous government.

Dankl also takes responsibility for Admont Abbey itself as a Benedictine monastery. "From a monastery that was founded almost a thousand years ago by someone from Salzburg, you can expect something to be given back to the city's population," says the city's vice mayor. Incidentally, Admont Abbey is considered a very wealthy monastery with many businesses.