The redevelopment process in Westhagen is over
Compensation amounts are levied
After 23 years of participation in the federal-state program "Socially Integrative City," the urban renewal process in Westhagen has come to an end. As the last individual measure, the development plan for the redesign of the shopping center and the adjacent open spaces was adopted by the Wolfsburg City Council in December 2022.
On 17 May 2023, the Wolfsburg City Council adopted the statute repealing the statute on the formal definition of the "Wolfsburg- Westhagen" redevelopment area (redevelopment repeal statute). It came into force on June 9, 2023 by publication in the Official Gazette for the City of Wolfsburg.
With the repeal of the redevelopment statutes, the approval obligations under Sections 144 and 145 of the Building Code no longer apply, nor do the tax depreciation options in the formally defined redevelopment area. In the next step, the redevelopment notices are deleted from the land registers, and compensation amounts are levied by notice on the owners in the former redevelopment area, insofar as these have not yet been redeemed. At the same time, the overall measure is settled with the funding agency. You will find further information on the compensation amounts under redevelopment law in one of the tabs at the end of this text.
In total, subsidies from the federal government, the state of Lower Saxony and the city of Wolfsburg amounting to more than 14.7 million euros, as well as approximately 1.2 million euros in redevelopment-related revenues, have flowed into the renewal process. In addition, a multiple of the sum has been invested by private parties.
In addition to various competitions, planning concepts and smaller measures, a total of 13 construction projects have been implemented as part of the renewal process, including the citizens' hall in the leisure and education center (2009), the "Gardens of Nations" with a total of four construction phases and the town axis - which is an integral part of Westhagen - as a focal point (2005 to 2011) and the new Halberstädter Straße Nord (2016).
In addition, numerous social projects have been initiated and institutions such as the neighborhood management have been consolidated beyond the "Socially Integrative City" period.
Most recently, two important traffic projects were implemented, namely
- the renovation of the pedestrian tunnel at the small shopping center (2021) with a new crossing, significantly enlarged sidewalks and high-quality open spaces on Dresdener Ring, and
- the adjacent traffic circle at the intersection of Dresdener Ring with Halberstädter Straße and Stralsunder Ring (2022).
Both measures have decisively improved the permeability of the Ring for pedestrians in the north-south direction and the quality of the sidewalks.
The largest single measure in the Westhagen redevelopment area in financial terms has been the deconstruction of the residential complex at Dessauer Strasse 14-34 between 2018 and 2020. Here, the owner's total costs of more than ten million euros have been subsidized with a total of 5.2 million euros. The deconstruction has opened the door for the project planning of a new shopping center and, associated with this, the fundamental renewal of the southern Dessauer Strasse in the coming years.
The final documentation for Westhagen's participation in the "Socially Integrative City" program is available below this text. The documentation is part of the documents for the final settlement. In addition, it is intended to provide all interested parties with a clear insight into the extensive activities during the 23 years of urban renewal in and for Westhagen.
By council resolution of December 6, 2000, large parts of the Westhagen district were formally designated as a redevelopment area (cf . Section 142 of the German Building Code (BauGB). This was preceded by
- a comparative study of the need for renewal in the districts of Detmerode, Westhagen and Nordstadt (1998) and
- so-called "preparatory studies" for Westhagen after (1999).
The redevelopment statutes for Westhagen were announced on February 15, 2001. On 14.06.2006, the town council changed the spatial scope of the redevelopment statutes with the aim of "streamlining" the renewal area in Westhagen (announcement of the 1st amendment to the redevelopment statutes on 28.07.2006). To this end, partial areas have been released from the redevelopment area whose actual upgrading had proven unrealistic in the meantime. This applies above all to large parts of the Dresdener Ring, for which a complete redevelopment was planned at the beginning of the procedure.
Other areas, on the other hand, had to be included in the redevelopment area after it became clear that these areas could not be considered separately from the redevelopment context: The integration of areas into the redevelopment area primarily concerned residential areas on Dresdener Ring, Halberstädter Strasse and Dessauer Strasse.
The redevelopment statutes and other important information on the course of the redevelopment process, including the possibilities and obligations of the owners, are included in the following downloads. Detailed information on the levying or redemption of compensation amounts in the Westhagen redevelopment area, which will begin in 2018, can be found in a separate section below.
The legal basis for download
Standard value map for special standard land values
Since 2000, considerable public funds from the federal government, the state of Lower Saxony and the city of Wolfsburg have been used in Westhagen, primarily to improve the residential environment. By the end of 2018, more than EUR 9.3 million had been invested as part of the "Socially Integrative City" program. Around three million euros of this was spent on development measures in the "Gardens of Nations" area and Halberstädter Straße; a further 1.8 million euros was invested in public construction measures.
Westhagen has benefited enormously from its participation in the "Socially Integrative City" program and from the eleven major individual projects completed to date. In addition, the structural changes have initiated a positive image change among the residents of the surrounding districts.
The investments made have increased the value of the properties in the redevelopment area. For this increase in value - and only for the redevelopment-related increases in land value (see below) - the city is legally obliged under the provisions of the German Building Code (BauGB) to levy a contribution from the property owners in the form of a so-called "equalization amount".
Changes in land values due to the economic situation are not taken into account when calculating the equalization amount, nor are the respective owners' own expenses. In particular, the building values and thus the investments made by the owners in and on the buildings are not taken into account!The equalization amounts are not determined by the town, but by the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg Land Valuation Committee at the Lower Saxony State Office for Geoinformation and Land Surveying, which is responsible for Westhagen and other areas. In February 2017, the expert committee determined the corresponding standard land values on the basis of the update of the urban development framework plan for Westhagen adopted by Wolfsburg City Council and recorded them in a so-called standard land value map: On the one hand, it shows the land value that the properties have on the basis of the framework planning at the end of the redevelopment. On the other hand, it shows the land value that the properties would have had if no redevelopment had been carried out. In order to exclude the possibility of cyclical influences being included in this calculation due to the long period of time over which the redevelopment was carried out, the value was determined in each case in relation to the same reporting date.
The following diagram illustrates the relationship
According to Section 154 of the German Building Code (BauGB), the equalization amount must be paid by the owner, but not by the leaseholder or the person entitled to leasehold development rights, nor by the tenant. In the case of leasehold properties, the heritable building right provider is responsible for the compensation amount. As the landowner, the city does not pay any compensation for schools, roads and green spaces.
Under current tenancy law, the equalization amount is not an apportionable cost.In principle, the compensation amount must be paid after completion of the refurbishment; it is then levied by notice. However, it is also possible to redeem the equalization amount early. A discount of ten percent can be granted for the redemption of the compensation amount until December 31, 2019.
For the respective property or apartment owners, the advantage of a redemption is that they can calculate future investments on a secure basis and do not have to expect any subsequent charges. Redemptions are advantageous for the city, as it can use the income generated before the redevelopment is completed for further tasks and measures in the redevelopment area.
A total of five information events were held in the district in the summer of 2018 on the subject of "compensation amount collection". Together with the invitations to these events, a flyer was sent out containing concise - and still up-to-date - information on the topic.
Flyer: Compensation amount collection in the Westhagen redevelopment area
Several information events on this important topic will be offered to owners in the Westhagen redevelopment area in 2018. The dates of the events are currently being prepared and all owners will receive personal invitations.
Telephone information on the equalization levy in the Westhagen redevelopment area can be obtained from
- Sarah Berdien, City of Wolfsburg, telephone: 05361 28-2942
City of Wolfsburg
Urban Planning
Porschestrasse 49
38440 Wolfsburg
Telephone: 05361 28-2165
E-mail to sekretariat.06@stadt.wolfsburg.de