A two-year project to renovate and rebuild the headquarters of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has been announced today, meaning that employees will have to vacate the premises on a temporary basis.
Workers are due to move out of the office in the Frankfurt Otto-Fleck-lane site on June 18, and move into temporary premises six kilometres away on the road to Neu-Isenburg, five days later.
House One, where DOSB officials are based, will be completely rebuilt, while House Two, where other sporting federations and institutions are housed, will be partially renovated.
The news was announced by the DOSB following an Executive Board meeting today, the last such meeting to be held at the headquarters before renovation begins.
DOSB director general Michael Vesper claimed the work is necessary because the office is comparable with a "dinosaur" and "in no way longer meet the requirements of a modern, functional and prestigious office building".
Alfons Hörmann, who replaced Thomas Bach as DOSB President last December, added "the decision for the new building is also a long-term decision for Frankfurt", while vice-president Hans-Peter Krämer claimed they "want to make the headquarters fit for the future".
Krämer explained that the project, muted since 2011, is now confirmed, and that this is possible only due to the financial support provided from the city of Frankfurt and the federal state of Hesse, for which they are "very grateful".
The project will be monitored by regular meetings of a specially convened DOSB Planning Committee, and it is hoped the renovated building will be fully open for use by 2016.
Following the release of a new logo earlier this month, the decision to develop new headquarters marks the latest stage of a modernisation process currently ongoing within the DOSB.