05.2024 | Press release
After eight months of construction time, the shell of the new Ketteler-La Roche School is now complete. Today, Pecan Development celebrates the topping-out ceremony in Oberursel’s Stierstadt district together with representatives of the Diocese of Limburg and Mayoress Runge. The state-recognized, private vocational college for the social welfare professions is to be run by the Diocese of Limburg and forms part of the new Neumühle district. With almost 4,000 square meters of space, the building is divided into modern teaching and seminar rooms and features a large roof terrace, a bistro, an auditorium, and offices for the school administration. The design came from holger meyer Architekten in Frankfurt. The coming months will see the interior fitted out, with completion of the school expected in spring 2025 and thus on schedule for the building project.
“We are delighted about the realization of the first building block on the Neumühle residential and commercial site and particularly about the growing interest from the general public. The marketing of the plots for detached homes is progressing, and construction work on the first building plots will begin this year. In the meantime, we have also secured planning permission for the apartment buildings, which represents another milestone in the successful development of the neighbourhood,” says Markus Brod, Managing Director of Pecan Development GmbH.
The construction project is hugely important to the Diocese. “All those involved have put a great amount of effort into this project, which also means that everything is progressing according to plan and within the allocated time and budget. We look forward to being able to hand over the new premises to students in summer 2025,” says Stefan Muth, Head of Resources and Infrastructure at the Diocese of Limburg.
Around the Ketteler-La Roche School, the new Neumühle quarter is taking shape. On a site of around 30,000 square meters, Pecan Development is creating a completely new neighbourhood with apartment buildings, residential plots, office and commercial spaces, and daycare for children. The houses being built here are sustainable with efficient use of resources and energy in line with the Effizienzhaus 40 or 50 rating in the BEG “Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings” program. Renewable energy from photovoltaic systems will cover a large proportion of the energy consumption.
“With today’s topping-out ceremony, we are not only ‘symbolically’ putting the last beams in place, but also laying the foundations for a modern, social welfare education centre as a place of lively and lifelong learning,” says Stefan Behr, Managing Director of St. Hildegard Schulgesellschaft.
There is also praise from the school management for the entire project: “With today’s topping-out ceremony, we are extremely grateful to be celebrating our school for future educators and social workers now having a solid roof, under which we can unite our three guiding principles of courage to change, acceptance for which has come about, and space for community,” explain Regina Lischka und Ursula Meurer from the school management.
“The Ketteler-La Roche School is a firm fixture in Oberursel, which is why we’re very happy to be able to write a new chapter in the history of this institution together with the Diocese of Limburg. The need for an institution like this is greater than ever: We have a huge lack of educators and social workers, so it’s very important that we train young people in these professions. At the same time, the school’s easily accessible location and close connections with the surrounding new housing in the neighbourhood are particularly attractive and strengthen Oberursel as a centre of education and business,” says Antje Runge, Mayoress of Oberursel.