New construction of the municipal theater in Frankfurt: costs are exploding, start indefinite

On social networks you are regularly reminded of events that happened years ago. A few weeks ago, on June 6th, there was information that the feasibility study for the renovation of the municipal theater in Frankfurt had been presented nine years earlier. In view of the dilapidated building structure, there was talk of an urgent need for action at the time. The stage technology was confirmed to have a remaining life of around five years. As is often the case in life, things turn out differently: nine years later, the double theater on Willy-Brandt-Platz is still in operation, albeit under increasingly difficult circumstances. The opera's upper machinery, which has already failed in individual performances, needs to be repaired for around 900,000 euros so that the next season is not canceled. It looks like the musical theater will have to be kept operational for at least another ten years with increasing effort.

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It is not the algorithm, but human memory that recalls the shock that the cost estimate for a renovation in 2017 caused. More than 850 million euros would be needed to bring the stage building into a contemporary condition. In retrospect, this sum appears to be low, as the estimates for the new building variant that has now been chosen are 50 percent higher than the 2017 calculation. And the end of the line has not yet been reached. Every year that construction projects are delayed drives up costs by an eight-figure amount. Billions are hardly a deterrent anymore

But the longer we talk about billions of dollars, the more we get used to it. The expected burden on the city treasury will no longer cause a shock. There is no other way to explain the fact that the city council has made resolutions that they do not know what financial requirements they will ultimately entail. It is becoming increasingly clear that the city has not only embarked on a costly but also very complex project. Things are now picking up speed with the commissioning of external planners and the founding of the stage construction company. That doesn't mean that the excavators will be rolling in any time soon. Two years after the fundamental decision, the land issue for the new theater building has not yet been finally clarified. Would it be quicker if the city had chosen a different solution? That's quite possible, but we don't know. And the knowledge would also be fruitless. Time cannot be turned back.