State pulled the ripcord

Tirol Holding would have liked a showpiece building

A project from a time when money didn't seem to play a role: this is what the extension to the corner building in Museumstrasse should have looked like.(Bild: Land Tirol, Krone KREATIV)

Lebensraum Tirol Holding - the crisis-ridden, state-financed umbrella structure of Agrarmarketing, Tirol Werbung and Standortagentur - is looking for a new home. Nothing came of a swanky building. Now a somewhat more modest place to stay has apparently been found.

The residential dreams of Lebensraum Tirol Holding came to nothing at the end of last year: high above the rooftops of Innsbruck, right next to the Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, the corner building at Museumstrasse 9 to 11 was to have been generously, not to say bombastically, extended.

However, there was a problem that became increasingly serious over the course of the previous year: The property belongs to René Benko. His mega-bankruptcy forced the state of Tyrol to pull the ripcord in the fall of 2024. Since then, the state subsidiary, which currently occupies Maria-Theresien-Straße, has been looking for a new home.

This building on Südring is being discussed as an alternative.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Around 5000 square meters are available on Südring
Now a new solution seems to be on the horizon. One that appears somewhat more modest than the one in the city center: the building of the former ARZ general data center on Innsbruck's Südring could soon serve as a new home for Tirol Holding. Tiroler Versicherung was last housed here during the renovation of its headquarters in Wilhelm-Greil-Straße, which took several years. However, it has now moved in, freeing up suitable space in the striking red building on Innsbruck's Südring near the Westbahnhof station.

The building was planned in such a way that it could easily be extended by two storeys.

Architektin Evelyn Achhorner (FP-LA)

Architect is a member of parliament
5000 square meters of gross floor space are available there, says architect LA Evelyn Achhorner (FPÖ), who planned the building in the early 2000s. And it has a special feature that could benefit Lebensraum Holding: "The building was planned in such a way that it could easily be extended by two storeys," says the architect.

Silence around Tirol Holding and the administrative district
Another advantage: once the space has been adapted, Tirol Holding could move in soon - unlike the alternative administrative quarter planned for the casino site: exactly one year ago, high-flying plans were presented for a new office tower on the casino forecourt next to the Haus der Industrie. Cost: 60 million euros. But it has fallen silent, just like Tirol Holding.