The church in retreat: How sacred buildings are being modernized | EUROtoday

Even on this cloudy autumn day, the previous Athanasius Church in Hanover’s southern a part of the town shines. The putting constructing from 1964 with its slender tower stands in the course of residential buildings on Böhmerstrasse. Until 2013, the sounds of bells and organs echoed right here. But even then, solely 14 % of kids in Hanover have been baptized – and the church and the group heart under have been in want of renovation. In June 2015, Gert Meinhof and Dirk Felsmann purchased the complicated. The challenge developer duo, lively in Hanover and Goslar, makes a speciality of buildings which have fallen out of use; They are at the moment changing the final a part of a decommissioned air base space into 72 rental lofts, and round 30 small and huge residential items are being in-built a former theater monument. The firm retains all tasks in its portfolio and rents out the residences and workplaces itself. “We simply grow fond of these properties,” says Dirk Felsmann – the tax benefits of this holding technique are additionally not uninteresting if in case you have beforehand drilled such thick boards.