The city of Baunatal has launched an expression of interest procedure for the redevelopment of the former sports pool site in the AquaPark, located in the Altenbauna district. The city is looking for sustainable, economically viable, and urbanistically convincing usage concepts for the approximately 18,000 square metre area. The initiative is primarily aimed at investors, project developers, operators, companies, and institutions. Submissions can be made to the city until 1st October 2026.
The former sports pool, built in 1992 over a previous open-air pool, was for a long time a central component of the city's public leisure and sports offerings. Since 2023, its use as a sports pool has become unsustainable due to structural and technical deficiencies. The land and the building are owned by the city of Baunatal. The area is centrally located within the established sports and leisure hub of the AquaPark and benefits from good transport links as well as existing infrastructural and development facilities.
Open Process for Market Exploration
With this expression of interest procedure, the city aims for broad market exploration. No predetermined use is expected, but rather a coherent concept for the long-term development of the site. The background to this includes changing demands on offerings in the areas of leisure, sports, health, and services, as well as the structural and economic conditions of the existing property. The process is designed to be open-ended. Neither the current zoning plan nor the compulsory preservation of the existing building fabric are binding for the development ideas to be submitted, which offers potential partners significant creative freedom.
Participation in the procedure is non-binding and serves initially for market research in preparation for possible further steps. It does not give rise to any claim for a contract conclusion nor for the execution of a subsequent tendering or sales process. For the conceptual elaboration, the city provides extensive planning bases, including existing and zoning plans, a map of the flood zone, a current aerial photo, and a CAD version of the existing plan.
Criteria for Concept Evaluation
The city places importance on a future use not only being economically viable but also making a long-term contribution to Baunatal's development. Submitted concepts will therefore be primarily evaluated according to four criteria:
- —Creation of added value for the citizens of Baunatal and visitors.
- —Enabling sustainable value creation for the city.
- —Appropriate consideration of the structural condition of the former sports pool.
- —Contribution to the urban and functional enhancement of the site.
According to the city's assessment, the existing building structure and the spatial potential allow for various forms of subsequent or alternative use. Interested parties are requested to submit with their expression of interest a company or institutional profile outlining their focus areas and experience, as well as references for comparable projects from the last five years. Furthermore, a detailed description of the usage idea, including its contributions to the aforementioned criteria, concept sketches or plans and spatial representations, as well as a statement of the envisaged cost framework, are required. The submission deadline is 1st October 2026. Submissions that do not fully meet the criteria will not be considered in the further process. Documents can be submitted via email to magistrat@stadt-baunatal.de or by post.
