In Vienna, the Neubau and Döbling districts in particular are suffering from the Signa bankruptcy. The district leaders want the city to look for investors – and are rejected. The town hall points out that its hands are tied by the legal situation.
It doesn’t happen often that Markus Reiter, the Green district leader of Neubau, and his Döblinger colleague Daniel Resch (ÖVP) agree. But the ruins of René Benko’s Signa ensure a solidarity. City should “look for investors” The skeleton of the Lamarr department store is weighing on the new building, while in Döbling the plans for Muthgasse as a biotech district are on hold because the building grounds including that former APA building Benkos Signa belongs. The town hall has “so many options. The economic agency or the economic city council can look for investors,” says Reiter. The city hopes for Benko’s Thai partner. However, the city hall gives the districts the cold shoulder and points to the legal situation with valid building permits, for example at Lamarr. In addition, one cannot anticipate the insolvency administrator. It is now up to him to dispose of parts of the company and assets. Plus, it’s not just about Signa. The Lamarr, for example, is half owned by the Thai Central Group. This is precisely what makes the city confident: “Due to the advanced stage of construction, one can assume a high probability of completion – purely for the economic interests of the Thai partner or a legal successor,” they say it from the town hall. That’s not enough for Resch and Reiter: They now want to find someone, the local Chamber of Commerce lawyer Alexander Biach, to take care of the ruins.
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