Freiberg is moving closer to selling the long-closed Afrikahaus site, after a city committee gave the deal a positive recommendation on Tuesday evening. The plan would hand the more than 2,000-square-meter property at Artur-Benseler-Straße 10 to Neohaus GmbH in Murr for 1.45 million euros.

The company is the only bidder that came forward, and it wants to build five single-family houses on the land rather than the larger residential block the city had originally required in the sale notice. The sale will still need approval from the Gemeinderat, which is scheduled to vote at its next meeting on June 9.

The property has been empty for years because of water damage, moisture and mold infestation. In September 2024, the council decided to sell the derelict museum for contemporary African art, music and culture together with the land, while also looking for future space for the collection in the city’s planned new center. The proceeds are earmarked for restoring the collection and keeping it accessible to the public until a permanent solution is ready there in a few years.

The land plan now before the council is smaller than the city first imagined, and that split was clear in the committee debate. Green councillor Victoria Graf opposed the administration’s proposal and called the project a “Megaklotz,” while SPD councillor Sabine Geißer said it was good that it would no longer become such a large block. She also warned that not as many trees would be able to remain.

Jan Hambach, speaking for the city administration, said the aim was not to build over the site completely and to keep a park-like character. Mario Wildermuth of the Free Voters dismissed the resistance as “Jammern auf hohem Niveau” and said the plan was “völlig tragbar.” Under the current proposal, about 180 square meters would stay in city hands, with African sculptures placed there and a path opening the area to the public. A sign would also commemorate Arthur Benseler, who built the Afrikahaus from 1969 to 1970 and left the house and property to the city.

That compromise is now the practical answer to a problem Freiberg has faced for years: the building itself cannot be kept in use, but the collection tied to it still has to be shown. If the full council follows the committee’s recommendation on June 9, the city will have a sale that funds the collection and a development plan that keeps a piece of the site public rather than losing it entirely to housing.