Altena construction company
| Altenaer Baugesellschaft AG (ABG)
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | February 14, 1870 |
| Seat | Altena |
| management | Joachim Effertz (board member) |
| Number of employees | 15th |
| sales | 7.8 million euros |
| Branch | Housing industry |
| Website | www.altenaer-baugesellschaft.de |
| As of December 31, 2015 | |
The Altenaer Construction Company Ltd. (ABG) is a housing company in North Rhine-Westphalia , located in the town of Altena in the Sauerland . The company's shareholders are several companies from the region and the city of Altena . ABG primarily rents private living space in Altena.
history
Foundation and development until 1900
The Altena construction company was founded on February 14, 1870 under the leadership of Altena industrialists. The share capital for this was 20,000 thalers . The first board of directors was formed by Hermann Gerdes, mayor Schmieding, Wilhelm Koch, district architect Scheele, manufacturer Gustav Selve , Julius Gerdes and pharmacist Feldhaus. This makes Altenaer Baugesellschaft the oldest still existing housing company in North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the five oldest in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Altena construction company was founded against the background of a pronounced housing shortage and poverty in the region. The city has been the center of German wire production since the Middle Ages, and the industrial revolution in the middle of the 19th century resulted in an enormous increase in the need for workers. The narrow Lennetal and the equally narrow side valleys with their numerous small businesses severely restricted the construction of residential buildings in the 19th century. The workers lived together in a very small space. The consequences of the housing conditions were neglect and the spread of diseases such as pulmonary consumption , rickets and diphtheria . That is why new and inexpensive apartments were urgently needed for the city, which then had over 7,000 inhabitants.
The company was entered under number 172 in the company register of the then Royal District Court in Lüdenscheid only on March 25, 1871, after the end of the fighting during the Franco-German War .
In the first two years of the company, 16 workers' houses with 32 apartments were built on Werdohler Strasse. Some of these houses are now on the list of monuments of the city of Altena because of their exemplary character and their social significance. As early as 1872, demand exceeded the building company's housing supply - despite relatively high purchase and rental costs. In the following year, construction of a further 14 houses with 28 apartments began on Westiger Strasse. In 1874 2 houses with 4 apartments were built on Lüdenscheider Strasse; Between 1875 and 1877 the company built 28 houses with 56 apartments on Oberstrasse, today's Jahnstrasse. Eight years after it was founded, the company had built 60 houses with 120 apartments in Altena.
On July 4, 1877, the name change from "Altenaer Baugesellschaft" to "Altenaer non-profit building society" was entered in the Iserlohn commercial register. In order to gain new bank capital, between 1879 and 1899 all completed properties were sold step by step, with the exception of 16 apartments. In a second construction phase that was just beginning, new houses could be built on Westiger Strasse and Nettestrasse.
Development in the 20th century
In the years 1900 to 1907 the company owned 20 houses with 61 apartments. In the same period she joined the non-profit housing construction organizations of the Province of Westphalia. An application to convert the construction company into a cooperative was rejected in 1907 by the company's organs. From 1908 a closer cooperation developed with the city of Altena, when the municipality took over a guarantee for a loan for the construction company for the first time. So the city architect joined the board. The number of inhabitants of the city had meanwhile almost doubled compared to 1870 to over 14,000. The construction company expanded its construction activities considerably. In 1912 the first five groups of houses in the Knerling settlement were built.
After the beginning of the First World War , construction work was stopped. The share capital at that time was 93,000 marks. After selling ten apartments in 1914, the company still owned 65 houses with 236 apartments, while the population of Altena had risen to 15,738. After the World War, in 1919, the share capital was increased to 250,000 marks. The city of Altena acquired part of the new shares and became shareholders. In the same year, apartments for “less well-off” workers and civil servants of the municipality were set up in the Knerling settlement.
From 1920 to 1937, with the participation of local industrial companies, some of which had become shareholders in the construction company, 40 groups of houses were built in the Knerling district in the style of a garden city . After 2000 the city of Altena paid tribute to the special structure of this district by placing it completely under monument protection.
By order of the district leadership of the NSDAP , the executive board (6 people) and the supervisory board (7 people) resigned in 1933 for the purpose of harmonization . According to the decision of the District President in Arnsberg on September 1, 1933, the company was recognized as a non-profit housing company with effect from October 15, 1932. At the end of 1934 the company owned 146 houses with 538 apartments. In the period from 1935 to 1938, 43 houses with 261 apartments were completed. The construction costs for a three-room apartment (approx. 50 m²) were around 6,000 Reichsmarks.
In the years 1939/40 Altena industrialists gave the construction company free land with a total size of 4,385 m² in order to promote non-profit housing construction. The construction company thus had approximately 77,000 m² of construction-free land. In 1940 the share capital was increased to 475,000 Reichsmarks, and a year later to 750,000 Reichsmarks . In place of the board member Hermann Stromberg, who retired due to his death, the well-known manufacturer Fritz Berg joined the board.
In 1942 the construction company built houses in Halver and Meinerzhagen , which were then sold to other construction companies. At that time, the inventory included 991 own apartments and 10 shops.
Due to the Second World War and the total warfare, planned construction projects were postponed until 1945. Even in 1946 it was not possible to build houses. However, with the approval of the supervisory board and the military government, a kindergarten could be built on Knerling for 200,000 Reichsmarks, which was sold to the city after completion and used as a primary school.
The property was only slightly affected by war damage, which was largely repaired as early as 1947/48. Finally, the resettlement and refugee programs and the great housing shortage boosted the company's construction activity. In 1950/51 a total of 22 houses with 92 apartments were built at Knerling, Breitenhagen and other places in the city. The result of the construction work started in 1912 on the Knerling: 133 houses with 575 apartments, plus a school, a kindergarten, an inn and shops. The Knerling is considered a model of a closed suburban settlement in a low-rise building. From 1952 to 1954, major construction activities extend to the site at Breitenhagen, where 517 apartments are being built. The construction of a three-room apartment with a bathroom measuring around 50 m² cost around 15,000 Deutschmarks in those years. On December 31, 1954, the construction company owned a total of 340 houses with 1,530 apartments and 12 commercial units - Altena now had 23,397 inhabitants.
The brisk construction activity continued in 1955. The shortage of labor and the bottlenecks in the delivery of building materials were clearly noticeable and extended the construction times, as a result of which the construction costs increased significantly. The company now had 198,000 m² of construction-free land. In 1957, various entrepreneurs gave the construction company loans in return for being able to occupy certain apartments. The construction activity had not decreased compared to previous years. 75% of the apartments built in recent years were subsidized through special programs, such as the accommodation of refugees from the Soviet occupation zone or the GDR , resettlement measures and the removal of emergency shelters. In 1957, the housing stock comprised a total of 351 houses with 1,766 apartments and 15 commercial units.
A survey of people from 1958 showed that 6,661 people (28% of the Altena population) lived in the building company's apartments. The proportion changed in the following years due to the incorporation of Dahle , Evingsen and parts of the municipality of Lüdenscheid-Land. In 1961 the construction company considered the housing shortage to be resolved. In 1963, after 163 houses with 953 apartments, construction work was stopped on Breitenhagen. Between 1961 and 1965 a total of 43 houses with 258 apartments were built on the Pragpaul. In 1965, the Altena construction company owned 443 houses with 2,333 apartments. Altena had 24,104 inhabitants at that time. The average monthly rent for old buildings was 1.34 DM per m² and for new buildings 1.52 DM per m².
In 1966/67, around 500,000 DM had to be raised annually for maintenance. The average rent for all buildings was now DM 1.76 per m² of living space. In the same year DM 635,000 was spent on maintenance, which corresponds to DM 5.21 per m² of living space. The maintenance costs rose in the following year to 781,728 DM, in 1974 to 954,000 DM. At the annual general meeting in 1975 a capital increase by 250,000 DM to 1,000,000 DM was resolved.
From 1968 onwards, new building activity was essentially suspended, as there were hardly any land suitable for building in Altena. It was not until 1977 to 1980 that 15 row houses and 6 condominiums were built in the "Winters Wiese" building area, which were then sold. From the mid-1980s, modernizing the housing stock was given high priority. This mainly meant the installation of double-glazed windows, gas heating systems and bathrooms. From 1987 to 1989 the company realizes one of its last construction projects to date with 16 apartments for the elderly and three social apartments in Kirchstrasse. After that, a few publicly subsidized apartments will be built. In 1989 the construction company moved its administrative headquarters from Gartenstrasse to Kirchstrasse 9.
On August 23, 1990, the general meeting decided to change the name from “Altenaer non-profit building company” to “Altenaer building company AG” (ABG). At that time, it had 2,462 apartments.
With effect from August 1, 1993, the construction company took over 412 apartments from the Wohnungsbau- und Verwaltungs-GmbH (WBV), a housing company belonging to the Metallgesellschaft group . 262 of these apartments were located in the urban area of the neighboring municipality of Werdohl. In return, the metal company gave up its 16.08% stake in the Altena construction company; its shares were taken over by two Altena industrial companies. In 1995, in the 125th year of its existence, ABG owned over 2,900 apartments. At the end of 2014, ABG sold all of its Werdohl holdings.
In the 1990s, a profound demographic change began. Mainly due to the creeping decline of the metal industry, the number of inhabitants of the city of Altena decreased. Within 20 years the number of inhabitants fell from 24,303 (1993) to 17,595 (2014). Altena recorded the fastest population decline of all municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia. ABG reacted to this with a modernization, service and leasing offensive in order to retain existing tenants and to attract new ones from Altena and the surrounding area.
21st century
A housing market report published by the Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft (LEG) in 2012 determined that Altena had a vacancy rate of 8.5% in 2009. The company responded by demolishing houses and privatizing. In addition, small attic apartments were shut down. At the end of 2008, the ABG's annual report listed the demolition of 68 apartments and five sales.
subsidiary company
The ABG holds 100% of the shares in the Wohnungs-Bau und Verwaltungs-GmbH (WBV). The WBV manages smaller housing stocks for private and commercial customers and does not own real estate. The WBV was founded in 1952 and in earlier years managed up to 2000 apartments throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, including large holdings of the metal company and its subsidiary VDM .
Current housing market
The situation of the ABG
| year | Number of ABG apartments |
Population of Altenas |
|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 32 | 7.122 |
| 1914 | 236 | 15,738 |
| 1942 | 991 | 17,798 |
| 1954 | 1,530 | 23,397 |
| 1965 | 2,333 | 24,104 |
| 1976 | 2,333 | 25,936 |
| 1990 | 2,462 | 24.053 |
| 2000 | 3,004 | 22,215 |
| 2012 | 2,198 | 17,900 |
| 2015 | 1.910 | 17,155 |
In 2012, the ABG stock of apartments had fallen to 2,198. With 668 apartments, the focus was on the Breitenhagen district, followed by Knerling with 414 units. The boom times of the 1950s and 1960s shaped the offer: the classic ABG apartment measures almost 60 square meters and around 38 square meters on the top floor. However, amalgamation of small apartments now creates room for maneuver at a higher level and more and more different apartment sizes. Internal stairs enable the vertical fusion of apartments. The largest apartments now cover 153 square meters.
A survey by the Altena construction company reflects a general problem facing the city: 40% of its tenants are 60 years or older.
view on the city
Overall, rents in Altena are well below the state level, as a study by the state development company recently showed in 2012. According to this, the Märkische Kreis is one of the cheapest areas in Germany. The rents are lowest in the central district, to which Altena belongs. The cheapest apartments cost 3.52 euros excluding rent per square meter. The average tenant pays 4.15 euros per square meter.
Criticism of the housing stock
In a report by the Altena city council from 2007, it is stated that the company is "the largest provider of rental apartments" in the city, but that more than a third of the apartments come from the 1960s and 1970s and are "serially produced workers' housing" must be considered. The standard floor plans of these apartments would no longer meet “today's requirements” “in terms of size [average 57 m²] and furnishings”, and there would also be a need for renewal of the thermal insulation . This would mean there would be a lack of “attractive rental apartments for young families” despite a structural oversupply of apartments.
Monument area "Siedlung Knerling"
On April 29, 2010 the Knerling settlement of the Altena non-profit housing association was placed under protection according to § 5 DSchG with 66 groups of houses. The Altena-based construction company sued the administrative court against the provisional protection under protection in 2009 .
The final protection was given due to its urban and architectural importance. The settlement grew organically from 1912 to 1955 and embodies - beyond the political changes during this time - the idea of the garden city . As a result, not only the buildings, but also the network of paths and open spaces were placed under monument protection.
The oldest houses - five groups of houses in Straße am Knerling - were built in 1912. Each residential unit had its own toilet and kitchen-living room . After the First World War , local industrial companies got involved and became shareholders of the Altena housing association and the settlement was expanded. Between 1927 and 1937, the majority of the single-family semi-detached houses and apartment buildings were built under the supervision of the Westfälische Heimstätte Dortmund , an organ of the state housing welfare. To supplement the infrastructure, a department store with expressionistic , pointed-arched shop windows and a combination of shop and inn was built in 1927 .
After the Second World War , a school was built in the settlement, which is to be converted into a meeting point for generations in the coming years in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development .
Listed above all the architectural elements such as the original were next to the house floor plans dormers , doors, windows, slate-roofed hipped - or gabled roofs and house signs made with allegorical fable and animal drawings.
literature
- Board of Directors (ed.): Altenaer non-profit construction company 1870-1930 [memorandum] . Ruhfus Verlag, Dortmund 1930, p. 47 .
- Anniversary publication 125 years of Altenaer Baugesellschaft AG . 1995.
- Heimatbund Märkischer Kreis (publisher): Heimatbuch zum Kreisheimattag '88 of the Heimatbund Märkischer Kreis in Altena on September 10, 1988 . 1988.
- Altena 2015 - development and action concept . 2007.
- Altenaer Baugesellschaft AG (Ed.): 1870 - 2020 The development of Altenaer Baugesellschaft AG in 150 years until today . ( altenaer-baugesellschaft.de [accessed April 10, 2020]).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Business figures and data of the Altena construction company , accessed on November 1, 2016
- ↑ 125 years of Altena construction company, anniversary publication, p. 11.
- ^ Journal of the Association of German Engineers , Volume 16, year 1872, page 122 . Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d Knerling Monument Area Statute of April 19, 2010 ( Memento of December 4, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ 125 years of Altena construction company, anniversary publication, p. 18.
- ↑ Heimatbuch Altena on the district home day 1988, p. 167, contribution by Dieter Dresia
- ↑ 125 years of Altena construction company, anniversary issue, pp. 22-25.
- ^ Annual report of the ABG board from 2000
- ↑ LEG Housing Market Report 2012 ( Memento from April 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
- ↑ Reference in the city chronicle in 2008, p. 16. (PDF) Retrieved on July 10, 2020 .
- ^ Westfälische Rundschau : ABG has houses demolished , from January 30, 2012
- ^ Annual report from 2008 of the ABG
- ↑ Heimatbuch Altena on the district home day 1988, p. 168, contribution by Dieter Dresia
- ↑ Altenaer Baugesellschaft: facts and figures, housing stock on December 31, 2012 , accessed on January 6, 2014
- ↑ Altenaer Baugesellschaft: Facts and Figures , accessed on January 6, 2014
- ↑ Download the report for the Märkischer Kreis: LEG Housing Market Report 2012
- ↑ Development and Action Concept Altena, 2007, p. 26 and p. 99.
- ↑ Westfälische Rundschau: Monument statutes for the Knerling, November 22, 2009 , accessed on January 6, 2014
- ^ Albert Gut: Housing construction in Germany after the world war. A development under the direct funding of the German municipal administrations , Bruckmann Munich 1928, p. 176
- ↑ BMVBS: Age-appropriate renovation - model project ( Memento from May 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
- ^ WAZ: Visions for a District, February 20, 2012 , accessed on January 6, 2014