The End of the Vacant Lot at the Train Station: A Simmel Terminal
Sometimes, agonizingly slow progress might ultimately be exactly what was needed. Take, for example, the idea of a proper bus terminal, which has been around since the last millennium. Since 2024, there has not only been a design but also the will to make something of it—completion: 2026. That would be practically now, but the lot between the tracks is still more of a wasteland than a bus terminal with a bike shed and all the bells and whistles. For Peter Simmel, who, across from the towel-shaped lot (just under 200 m long and between about 16 and 25 m wide) —with Simmel Holding as the investor and in collaboration with the architectural firm Knerer and Lang—had already built the complex in 2022, featuring one of his three Edeka supermarkets in the area and the MEININGER Hotel—this was unacceptable: Both the store and the hotel had anticipated higher foot traffic thanks to the combination of a long-distance bus terminal, a bicycle parking garage, and rental spaces for offices with flexible floor plans, as well as temporary housing. Simmel is a doer, so he bought the project from the previous developer—who was clearly stuck. Purchase price (upon request): “Ten million!”
Of course, even for an entrepreneur like Peter Simmel, that’s no small sum. SIMMEL Holding operates 25 stores, including four in Bavaria, one in Thuringia, and 20 in Saxony. The company employs a total of around 1,600 people, and its annual revenue is approximately 300 million euros. But first, Simmel knows that sometimes you need patience (“it can take five years for a store to turn a profit!”) —and second, he is now personally ensuring that what was promised during the preliminary planning for the building complex—which will include an Edeka supermarket and a hotel—is carried out: The site analysis for the SIMMEL supermarket at Wiener Platz dates back to 2017. It identified the planned long-distance bus terminal, which was to be completed by 2024 at the latest…
The plans for the building are being continued and modified by the architectural firm Knerer and Lang. The previous design for the S&G Development GmbH project was also created by the Dresden-based architects. Knerer and Lang had previously planned and built the Simmel building on Wiener Platz in collaboration with Peter Simmel. The adjustments to the building also reflect the spirit of the times (which sometimes changes faster than a building can be erected): The office rental space will no longer be geared toward use as “co-working spaces,” as demand for such spaces has since declined. The floor plan of the rental space can now be designed very flexibly to meet the tenant’s specific needs.
Instead of a fully green facade, trees and shrubs will now provide living greenery on all roofs as well as on the first floor. Otherwise, the building is now green thanks to the color of the facade, which is made of recycled aluminum. The building complex will be between 20 and 30 meters tall and will feature a high-rise building just under 46 meters tall directly on the square. The upper floors of the ten-story building offer an exciting view of Dresden.
The covered long-distance bus terminal is slated to have ten bus platforms—up to 440 buses a day can arrive and depart from there: the kind of traffic needed to revitalize the surrounding area. The long-distance bus terminal will include retail space for a Flixbus shop, travel goods, dining options, and other tenants. The bicycle parking garage will have 800 spaces, including 25 spaces for cargo bikes. Access is via a ramp and will be connected to a two-lane bike path that runs directly alongside the building and joins the public bike path. A new tram stop is also planned directly at the SIMMEL Terminal.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2027, with completion expected in mid-2030.
