Jamal Al-Wazzan is one of the best-known players in the Vienna real estate scene. His new project: breathing new life into telephone booths. He has secured 5,000 nationwide and, according to his own statements, he has already received positive signals from the city of Vienna for the conversion of the first fifty.
Until now, only the boxes in Vienna’s parks that had been converted from telephone booths into libraries were known. Mayor Ludwig was now enthusiastic about his ambitious new project, tells the multimillionaire Jamal Al-Wazzan to the “Krone”. The first 50 new telephone booths will serve, among other things, as ATMs, charging stations for electric cars or WiFi columns. Some will also become “multifunctional help centers” with defibrillators and emergency telephones. They will retain their previous purpose of making telephone calls. In a second step, the new service islands will also enable shopping, especially in the federal states. “The plan is to have vending machines that grocers fill with their goods.”Save from demolitionIn any case, Al-Wazzan wants to save the telephone boxes from demolition. “We have to make sure we do something clever with these telephone booths,” said the real estate tycoon, who took over 50 Schöps branches years ago, in 2008, and found new tenants. Lots of negotiations Currently, as a tenant, he already has around 5,000 telephone booths all of Austria. However, the realization of his project could take some time. Because the telephone booths belong to the municipalities, which is why he actually has to speak to 500 mayors, as Al-Wazzan emphasizes. An opening date for Al-Wazzan’s first fifty multifunctional telephone booths in Vienna is also still pending. Ludwig’s enthusiasm, as perceived by Al-Wazzan, has yet to be manifested in the corresponding approvals. The mayor’s office could not be reached for comment before press time.
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