The police authority of Essen moves to the former Karstadt headquarters in the district of Schuir. The lease with the owner, Luxembourg Investment Company 87 S.à.r.l., has been signed recently. The office Koschany + Zimmer Architekten KZA is responsible for the extension and reconstruction of the rooms.

The future location of the police headquarters on Theodor-Althoff-Straße 2 comprises around 26,800 square meters of usable space and 890 parking spaces. KZA’s architects are adapting the existing buildings and the parking garage to the strict security provisions of the authority. In addition, they plan to build a new car repair shop.

„If everything goes well, construction could still start this year,“ says KZA Director Stefan Blieffert. The relocation of the Essen police, which signed the lease for 30 years, is scheduled for mid-2020. Currently, the authority is housed in the old police school on Norbertstraße in Essen.

Only a few weeks ago, Koschany + Zimmer Architekten KZA completed the first major project in the former Karstadt headquarters. The architects modernized the building sections A and B for Karstadt Warenhaus AG. With the entry of the police, the proportion of leased space within the building complex rises to more than 80 percent.