Housing cooperative Lichtenberg
| WGLi Housing Cooperative Lichtenberg | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Registered cooperative |
| founding | 4th June 1954 |
| Seat | Berlin , Germany |
| management | Thomas Kleindienst, Monika Thiele (Members of the Management Board) Volker Esche (Chairman of the Supervisory Board) |
| Number of employees | 130 |
| sales | 318.5 million euros |
| Branch | Housing industry |
| Website | www.wgli.de |
| As of April 5, 2018 | |
The WGLi Housing Cooperative Lichtenberg eG in Berlin is a housing cooperative that was founded on June 4, 1954 as a workers housing cooperative Elektrokohle Lichtenberg (AWG EKL) by 22 people. Further AWGs were added in later years. It has 10,747 members (as of December 31, 2018) and a portfolio of 110 residential buildings (ten different building types from before 1990 and one new building as shown in the picture ) in the Berlin-Fennpfuhl and Friedrichsfelde-Süd residential areas , making it the largest housing association in Berlin and is the second largest landlord in the Lichtenberg district . The buildings contain 10,134 apartments as well as 34 office and storage rooms (as of December 31, 2018).
history
The companies VEB Siemens Plania , VEB PKM Kohlenverarbeitung ( branch Berlin) and the consumer wholesale bakery founded the cooperative in 1954 with the aim of providing housing for employees, as was customary in the GDR . These workers' housing cooperatives (AWG) were a variant of the company housing that had been in operation before the Second World War .
The topping-out ceremony for the very first apartment block of the new cooperative took place in 1954 , and in 1955 the first house with three staircases, built in traditional wall construction, was handed over to the new tenants. The construction costs amounted to 761,000 marks . - By 1958, six properties with a total of 146 apartments were ready for occupancy. These were located in what was then Rittergutstraße (since the 1960s Josef-Orlopp-Straße). In addition to a fixed share of the cooperative, those interested in housing had to put in 200 hours of construction, which mostly consisted of tidying up the shell or the preparation of green spaces. Those who were unable to contribute themselves had to pay a larger amount of money into the building fund.
Soon the AWG was also used for smaller companies, whose employees could become members with a share of the cooperative. The AWG Elektrokohle was expanded to include members of other cooperatives such as AWG Glück , so it grew to several thousand people looking for accommodation.
In 1969, the first residential buildings with 10 floors, elevator and district heating were built using large-panel construction . On July 4, 1974, a daily newspaper announced the handover of the 5,000 AWG EKL apartment at a ceremony in the Kulturhaus Elektrokohle . By 1990, AWG Elektrohohle had 10,489 apartments.
The cooperative's economic situation was not an issue before 1990, after which its continued existence was in jeopardy because it was not the owner of the land on which the multi-storey residential buildings had been built. In addition, a general debt relief had to take place, since the expenses before 1990 were not covered by the cooperative shares and by rental income, an amount of 180 million DM in debts had accumulated. On September 26, 1990, the cooperative gave itself its new name and adopted new statutes based on the now applicable federal German cooperative law . On November 27, 1991, it was re-registered at the Berlin-Charlottenburg District Court as WGLi Housing Cooperative Lichtenberg eG . The use of the possibilities of the Altschuldenhilfe-Gesetz (AHG) led to the halving of debts and thus to rescue from bankruptcy. The conversion of the WGLi into a property-oriented cooperative , whereby 15 percent of the housing stock could be privatized, was completed.
After an analysis of the state of the building, the fundamental renovation of the houses, which were between 20 and 40 years old at the time, could begin in 1992 , for which there were public subsidies. The renovation was carried out in small steps, mostly even without temporary relocation of the residents, so that the quality of living could be significantly improved and there was and is little fluctuation.
The administration of the WGLi, which had not had proper office space since its foundation and had its headquarters in the former building barracks of the Lichtenberg Nord residential area south of the Fennpfuhlpark since the 1970s , was able to build its own office and residential building in the Celebrate Landsberger Allee 180 A – B, where the head office has been located ever since.
Another new building project started in 2018 with living at the Lichtgarten , a rental property instead of a demolished children's combination in the Weißenseer Weg / Fennpfuhl residential area. 107 new rental apartments will be ready for occupancy by summer 2019.
Organizational matters
The housing association is represented by the board of directors (since 2001 Thomas Kleindienst and Monika Thiele). A general assembly and its elected representatives ensure democratic participation, an eleven-member supervisory board ensures the necessary due diligence.
Administratively, the housing stock has been divided into 12 different neighborhoods according to the different locations in the districts of the Lichtenberg district . In the Friedrichsfelde district, the permanent contact person is the rental and information office at Mellenseestrasse 25. Teams have been formed for the individual departments and the WGLi caretaker is employed in all properties .
As of the end of 2018, the WGLi had 130 employees, and it is also constantly training its own junior staff (property management clerk).
With the new name WGLi, the administration naturally changed the previous logo, since 2017 it has been supplemented by the slogan “This is where we live”, and in 2006 the mascots Fenny and Fried saw the light of day. The cuddly, handy pair of young ducks, whose names refer to the districts of Fennpfuhl and Friedrichsfelde , have since appeared as popular figures at public festivals and can be seen on service vehicles.
Service, events and leisure activities
With the quality of living, the range of extensive services such as shopping aids, food and party service, apartment cleaning and the like, with the provision of six guest apartments for up to six people each - four in the Fennpfuhl area and two in the Sewan district - and the living environment, WGLi is at well accepted by its members, according to annual surveys.
In addition, regular and varied events such as courtyard parties, readings, book fairs or neighborhood get-togethers with game afternoons are organized. With two member information materials, all WGLi households are kept up to date about current events at longer intervals.
Web links
swell
- WGLi information - different years
- WGLi-Umschau - the membership magazine of the WGLi, different years
- Festschrift 50 years of cooperative living in Berlin ; Berlin 1994
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e WGLi-Umschau, No. 1/2019, pp. 4–6.
- ↑ PKM stands for the DDR operating coal processing Leipzig , the letters mean P rojektiert , K onstriert , Mo In Place . [1]
- ↑ New home for Berlin workers . In: Berliner Zeitung , July 4, 1974, p. 8.
- ↑ Wohnen am Lichtgarten , accessed on April 19, 2019,
- ↑ WGLI: key data , as of the end of 2017. Accessed on April 19, 2019
- ↑ Our mascots : Description , accessed April 19, 2019.