Munich, July 1 – The Westpark Senior Residence in Munich, a facility that once accommodated several hundred elderly residents, is now facing an uncertain future after its operator filed for insolvency. Currently, only about 40 seniors remain in the residence, raising concerns about their continued care and living arrangements.
Long-Term Resident Expresses Disappointment
Gisela Schmied-Kowarzik, a resident for ten years and spokesperson for the residents, recounted her initial reasons for choosing the residence. From her 19th-floor apartment, she enjoys views of the Alps, and the excellent public transport connections were a significant draw. She also noted the residence’s previously good reputation and comprehensive support services. However, Schmied-Kowarzik states that little of that remains today. Most care services have been discontinued in recent months, and according to multiple sources, staff have not been paid since March.
Insolvency Declared After Months of Unpaid Staff and Service Cuts
The senior residence officially filed for insolvency at the beginning of June. The implications for the remaining residents are still unclear, according to Schmied-Kowarzik. While an outpatient nursing service, active in the building since 2023, is currently providing nursing and meal services, residents and former employees are concerned about the loss of other crucial offerings. These include mental training, bus excursions, and social coffee gatherings with staff – services that were integral to the residence’s appeal and explicitly listed as “social counselling and care services” in their contracts.
Deteriorating Conditions and Communication Breakdown
Residents and former employees describe a long-standing and progressively worsening situation. In 2019, residents were informed of major renovations and advised to move out to avoid noise disturbances. Many of the hundreds of seniors living there at the time did leave. The vacant apartments were subsequently rented out to non-seniors, often on short-term leases, with little evidence of the promised renovations ever materializing.
A significant change occurred between 2024 and 2025 when the lease agreement between the condominium owners’ association and the Westpark Senior Residence expired, and a new company, Alpensicht, took over. Residents claim they were not initially informed of this change, and their contracts remained with the original operator.
By mid-2025, external services such as language courses began to disappear as external providers went unpaid for months. In October 2025, residents received what Schmied-Kowarzik described as the “big bombshell”: Alpensicht presented the remaining seniors with new rental agreements. These proposed a 15% rent reduction in exchange for the discontinuation of almost all care and service benefits. The seniors rejected this proposal.
Uncertainty Persists for Remaining Residents
The situation continued to deteriorate in recent months, with staff going unpaid for extended periods and meal provisions becoming unreliable. With the insolvency filing in early June, residents, represented by Gisela Schmied-Kowarzik, are still awaiting clear answers regarding their future.
Alpensicht, the company currently leasing the building, stated in a written communication that its goal is “expressly not to endanger the living space of the remaining senior citizens,” and that it intends to preserve it. However, no agreement has yet been reached between the seniors and Alpensicht.
Local Politician Calls Problems “Self-Inflicted”
The conditions at the senior residence have been a recurring topic in the district committee of Munich’s Laim district. Frank Holzkämper (SPD), chairman of the social subcommittee, visited the facility in April and subsequently described the conditions as “appalling.” He labeled the problems as “self-inflicted,” stating that the decision was made “not to admit any more seniors, but to provide apartments for temporary use or short-term rental agreements.” He expressed concern that “profit is taking precedence over contractually guaranteed services.”
Alpensicht disputes this, citing the significant effort involved in short-term rentals. The original senior residence company, with whom the seniors still hold their contracts, did not respond to inquiries from BR.
