Is the financial juggler’s department store on Vienna’s Mariahilfer Strasse being built higher than approved? That question keeps residents and project insiders busy. The trick wouldn’t be new.
René Benko’s soaring flight is currently alone at the judges’ table. Evil tongues claim that the Tyrolean currently spends more time in courtrooms than in his office – on Tuesday he was again invited as a star guest in the bribery trial of the canon. If the 45-year-old does not have to testify on the basis of a duty of truth, his Signa group in Germany is seeking state aid for its department stores. His “popular” red wine festival was also canceled this year. No Thanksgiving for politicians, who always liked to be invited.
There are glaring differences between the plans
There are also negative headlines about his Vienna project on Mariahilfer Strasse. As reported, Leiner had to give way to make way for a glass block named Lamarr. There are glaring discrepancies between the notice posted and the filing plans. The building could spontaneously grow by 1.5 floors, including terraces. A financially good extra income for the financial juggler.
When asked, the city of Vienna explains it as follows: “Nothing has changed in the project submitted by the building authorities since the building permit was granted in 2021. Both the commercial building and the hotel have a ground floor, 5 floors and an attic. The difference in height is because the storey height in a shop is significantly higher than in a hotel.”
You have to stay flexible
Is that the end of the matter? Not at all, because the Signa scam with the miraculous multiplication of projectiles is not new, as a current example from Munich shows. Benko is also planning a new office building at the best location in the city center here. The accusation: the conversion of the loft is too massive, the building too high. “Why does the house have to be one meter higher than prescribed”, Piero Bruno of the town planning committee is quoted in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The reason for the increase, according to architect Holger Meyer: “To ensure that the first floor can also be used as retail space and not just as office space, it must have a minimum height of 3.95 meters.”
In contrast to Vienna, the house in Munich is reduced in size. Why does Vienna watch alone? Can anyone who supposedly has money build as high as they want with us?
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
