The 1.6 million-euro villa in the suburb of Bemerode with a park-like garden, is protected from view by a high fence, but the “needy refugees” apparently found the home not good enough.
The Palazzo Prozzo, located in the city of Hannover, in Lower Saxony, is a dream location, with a home-style environment, a generously maintained garden with mature trees and a wooden fence, protected against the prying eyes of the neighbourhood.
Some 16 “15-17-year-old” lucky individuals from “Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan” escaping the “traumatization of a war-torn past”, were given the keys to the house.
The city of Hannover has been particulalry generous with the money of their taxpayers: They bought the stately luxury villa on the Heymesstraße for their “underage refugees” for the sum of 1.6 million euros, since buying is known to be cheaper than renting.
From the beginning, the project was controversial, with neighbours complaining against the accommodation in a residential area in court. In an emergency application against the home operation, the neighbours referred to the development plan, which denotes the suburb as a general residential area. Therefore, according to law, a social institution is not allowed in this residential area.
The city of Hannover argued that the minors in Heymesstraße would not be housed for more than four weeks. “After that, the children and young people will be housed in other facilities,” said the spokesman for the city, Dennis Dix. So 1.6 million euros for a four week stay?
A not entirely legal conversion-exemption exception of the state of Lower Saxony then made the operation in March 2016 possible. Amazingly, German authorities became quite flexible in the “creative” enforcement of building planning laws.
Achim Maschke, head of the home association of the state capital Hannover emphasized that the unaccompanied minors of the Winkelvilla will be looked after around the clock to reassure the worried residents. At least one social worker will always be present. Also, the garden maintenance will be taken care of by an external facility management team, a professional around-the-clock janitor service.
However, all this has now changed. “Basically, there are too few facilities,” stressed Maschke. The “teens” will therefore rather be accommodated in the German Pavilion at the Expo Plaza. “That’s not allowed, it’s just an interim solution.”
The high expectations of the migrants meant the quiet park-like location of the villa was probably too far away from the bustling action of the city centre.
So furniture movers are clearing out the villa, which has been converted into a comfortable living area for enormous sums of money. Only days ago, a note was posted at the gate: “Please do not insert mail! House is no longer inhabited!”
A spokeswoman for the city of Hannover said that “the number of unaccompanied refugee minors” in Bemerode has declined sharply. “We are currently examining the other uses for urban purposes,” said the city spokeswoman for the current vacancy of the luxury property. She reassured journalists that the housing shortage in the Hannover area was not a serious problem.
