When the ‘Dräieck Dikrech’ project was presented in 2012, there was a sense of optimism in the air.
Housing, offices and shops were planned on the site of the former brewery.
Thirteen years later, parts of the old buildings have been demolished, but the site remains largely lifeless. However, there is hope that this could soon change.
The plans presented in 2012 were ambitious. The project foresaw combining protected elements of the former brewery with modern buildings.
John Penning, one of the initial investors, says that “we said from the very beginning that this would be a project that would take a long time. It is a large project in a town like Diekirch; it is not something you should rush.”
It would indeed be difficult to accuse the developers of having rushed the project.
Although a Special Development Plan (PAP) has existed for the site since 2014, little has happened 11 years on.
Around three years ago, however, it appeared that the project was finally gaining momentum. Demolition work began on a larger scale and a concrete timeline was outlined.
According to Régis Ortmans, then regional director of Matexi, “the idea is to be able to submit the permits to start the works, in particular for the sugar factory and lot 4 just here next to us, in the course of 2024, with the start of construction in the course of 2025.”
That target was clearly missed. Today, the sugar factory looks largely unchanged from shortly after the fire in April 2021.
At the time, the roughly 150-year-old building was destroyed down to its foundations. The fire was reportedly accidentally caused by young people.
In response to an enquiry, the National Institute for Architectural Heritage (INPA) said that no concept has yet been submitted outlining what is to happen to the listed building.
Despite this, municipal representatives remain optimistic that progress could soon be made on the site.
“As a municipality, we have had very intensive contact with the developers over the past year, or the past year and a half. An updated approval procedure has effectively been launched, we have reached the stage of a modification of the PAP and the municipality would in principle be ready to issue building permits at the beginning of 2026. We hope that this will work,” says Diekirch DP alderman José Lopes.
As for the scale of the project, it remains unchanged from the original plans and, for a town like Diekirch with around 7,500 residents, is far from insignificant.
Lopes continues: “The PAP currently provides for between 109 and 310 housing units. You have to imagine that the PAP itself only sets out a range of what is possible. It is a zone where housing, retail and other activities can be developed and since we do not yet have building permit plans, we do not yet know exactly which direction it will take. We only know the key parameters, namely between 109 and 310 housing units.”
The characteristic tower will have to be demolished, but a new tower with a similar size is planned, even if it may not be in exactly the same location.
Those responsible for the project were contacted for an interview but declined to take part.
Around a year ago, as part of a series on construction projects that are not progressing as planned, contact was established by email, but responses eventually ceased.
About a month ago, contact was re-established and those responsible initially indicated that they were available for an interview.
Our colleague from RTL Télé spoke twice by phone with Thierry Klaa from Citadel Real Estate Partners, but no response followed once concrete interview proposals were made.
Doubts as to whether rapid progress will be made on the site are therefore not unfounded.
