On 12 September 1996 Oberhausen and the Ruhr region gained another attraction: CentrO opened its doors in Oberhausen’s Neue Mitte. Its name is synonymous with the Europe-wide unique shopping and leisure paradise and also stands for the focal point of an ambitious and successful urban renewal project that transformed former industrial sites.
Service providers on former industrial sites
On the almost 100-hectare site of Thyssen’s former foundry and steel mill, a British consortium including the corporate group Stadium and P&O erected a gigantic shopping centre spanning 70,000 sq. m with approx. 200 shops, a recreational and amusement park and a 400-meter long promenade lined with more than 20 cafes, bars and restaurants, a multiplex cinema and one of the most modern event halls in Germany – the König-Pilsener-Arena with 12,500 seats. In addition to that, a hotel, a business park with almost 2,000 office jobs and a musical theatre, where the market leader Stage Entertainment Group has been performing since 2005, have evolved in the rings around CentrO.
Turning point in urban development
The opening of CentrO marked a double turning point for Oberhausen: in its urban development and in its image. Both are important, even if it is almost impossible to gauge the image improvement with concrete figures. Nonetheless, the effects are easily noticeable in the number of companies establishing themselves here, the implementation of follow-up projects, the number of visitors coming here or just in conversations about Oberhausen as a location.
Revitalising areasHere CentrO also plays a key role in the urban development concepts for Oberhausen’s Neue Mitte. The overall urban development plan focusses, on the one hand, on revitalising former industrial sites that have been abandoned in the geographical heart of the city and, on the other hand, stabilising the economy and spurring the location’s further development after losing almost 47,000 jobs in mining and heavy industry. The plan also includes enhancing the attractiveness of the recreational activities offered here as well as improving the quality of life, the infrastructure for the local public transport system and the bicycle paths and streets within Oberhausen.
Driving force for local economy
Owing to CentrO and the 23 million visitors it attracts every year, Oberhausen’s Neue Mitte is evolving into one of the key focal points for the Ruhr region as a tourist destination. A unique symbiosis between modern leisure facilities such as Sea Life Aquarium at the Heinz-Schleußer-Marina right next to CentrO and the impressive and yet unique structures of Oberhausen’s industrial heritage like the Gasometer or the former Hauptlagerhaus or central warehouse designed by the Bauhaus architect Peter Behrens is developing here.
Highly efficient use of funds
The public funds that were allocated for developing Oberhausen’s Neue Mitte were used very efficiently. The success can be measured especially when comparing the public funds used with the private investments they triggered and the employment statistics, which clearly reveal more than 10,000 new jobs have been created.
