Former international kindergarten to be demolished A new daycare center is to be built on Kennedyallee
Plittersdorf · An era of controversy comes to an end as authorities grant permission to tear down the old International Montessori Kindergarten on Kennedyallee. A new daycare center will be built in its place.
Bonn real estate company Vebowag has received authorization to demolish the former International Montessori Kindergarten on Kennedyallee in order to build a new day care center/kindergarten there. The building had been under protection by historical preservation authorities. The information was made available in an announcement from the city. It means that a long-running process full of controversy will come to an end. Next Wednesday, the Building Planning Subcommittee will once again take up the issue, and at the beginning of December, it will be on the agenda for the district council.
The current building in the Hicog settlement (Allied High Commission) of Plittersdorf dates back to the 1950’s. "The Lower Historical Monument Authority has approved the project only because there is a high demand for childcare places in the area, and they are urgently needed," the administration announced. On the part of Vebowag, a valid building permit must be obtained for the new day care center and construction must begin immediately after demolition.
According to the building permit request, the new facility is to house four groups with 20 children each - one group for children under three years of age and three groups for children over three years of age. The children will be cared for by eight employees. "It would not be possible to use the existing building in a manner that would come close to meeting this need," the administration explained the move. Due to the lack of childcare places, allowances were made for the building despite zoning regulations.
The city also has no reservations about approving a flat roof instead of a pitched roof, and parking spaces will be provided on the streets. The bottom line is that the architecture of the new kindergarten should be based on that of the old one. As reported, local residents and the initiative "Save the American Settlement Plittersdorf" had repeatedly campaigned for the preservation of the old building. The American Settlement of 1951 is considered a historical monument to German post-war history. It included 500 apartments with an area of 120 to 143 square meters each. There was a combined heat and power plant, the Stimson Memorial Chapel, the kindergarten and a US Army helipad. Schools, the American Embassy Club and later a gas station, a supermarket and a cinema rounded out the offerings in the American settlement.
(Orig. text: jab/bot, Translation: Carol Kloeppel)
