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With the retail and center concept, the city wants to maintain and strengthen the diversity of the retail trade in the city center and the district centers.
The City Management of the Bonn Economic Development Agency is the point of contact for advertising associations and city marketing associations in the city administration. However, expanding companies and/or start-ups in the retail sector also turn to the Economic Development Agency in their search for suitable locations.
The aims of cluster promotion are
Strengthening Bonn as a retail location in competition with the internet and competing retail locations in the region
Improving the flow of information in the "retail landscape"
Maintaining and expanding existing networks
Strengthening cooperation between retail institutions
Identification of future-relevant fields of action and initiation of corresponding projects
Bonn as a retail location is characterized by Bonn city centre, the three district centers of Bad Godesberg, Beuel and Duisdorf as well as numerous smaller centers that serve the local population. With the largest agglomeration of retail businesses, Bonn city center is the regional center for the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Ahrweiler region. Its catchment area extends from Much to Ahrweiler and from Rheinbach to Meckenheim. To the north, Bonn's catchment area is limited quite abruptly at the level of Wesseling in the direction of Cologne, while in the other directions it merges rather smoothly into the catchment areas of Aachen or Koblenz.
In total, the city of Bonn has around 1,900 retail businesses with a total sales area of around 425,000 square meters, which generate sales of around EUR 1.78 billion. In terms of the spatial distribution of retail locations, Bonn's city center currently has just under a third of Bonn's total retail space at around 135,000 square meters. The city center is also home to the largest retailers with retail space of up to 17,000 square meters. The prime locations are in Poststrasse, Remigiusstrasse, Sternstrasse and Wenzelgasse. The newest pedestrian zone in Friedrichstrasse is characterized by its strong concentration of high-quality specialist retailers.
Bonn is a member of the NRW City Center Network
In 2021, the City of Bonn - represented by the Office for Economic Development - joined the NRW City Center Network, which was set up as a voluntary working group of North Rhine-Westphalian cities and municipalities. The participating municipalities want to secure and develop sustainable and attractive city centers and town centers in North Rhine-Westphalia. The aim is to breathe life not only into the city centers, but also into the secondary centers of the cities. The network aims to promote the exchange of experience between the municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, qualify inner city stakeholders and support them in the development and implementation of local and regional projects in the cities and municipalities.
The network's 169 member municipalities have the experience and expertise to meet the challenges of inner city development. These are pooled in the network: The exchange of experience is promoted via various event formats, such as working groups, the inner city talks with politicians and administrators or the annual inner city conference. Current trends in inner city development are discussed, for example inclusion and urban development, building culture and digitalization, retail and housing. The NRW City Centre Network is supported in its activities by the Ministry of Regional Identity, Communities and Local Government, Building and Digitalization of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in terms of content and funding. The municipal umbrella organizations - Städtetag NRW and Städte- und Gemeindebund NRW - are also partners of the initiative. The NRW Trade Association, NRW Urban and the North Rhine-Westphalian Chambers of Industry and Commerce are also members of the NRW City Center Network.
By resolution of the council on 28 June 2021, the administration was commissioned to update the existing retail and center concept. Changes in the settlement structure, changes in market development and new legal requirements must be taken into account.
The concept is intended to preserve and strengthen the structure of the established city, district and sub-district centers.
The focus is on various aspects:
Securing the central supply function and supply close to residential areas.
Maintaining and strengthening the retail and functional diversity of the city center, district and sub-district centers.
The update started at the beginning of 2023 with the support of Stadt und Handel, Beckmann und Föhrer Stadtplaner GmbH. The process will take around two years in total and will be accompanied by several participation formats.
Background to the center concept
The city of Bonn had already drawn up its first retail and center concept in 1977 under the leadership of the city planning department. In 1999, this concept was updated and adopted again as a "spatially functional center concept in the sense of a sustainable settlement policy". Due to further developments in the retail sector and new legal requirements, an update of the retail and center concept was decided in 2008. The update was intended to create a binding, city-wide decision-making basis for settlement projects that offers both investors and local retail companies a reliable perspective and planning security.
