Overview

• The 30,000-square-meter site at Landsberger Allee and Danziger Straße in Friedrichshain has remained vacant since last year’s eviction.
• The SEZ opened in 1981 as a prestigious DDR leisure hub with wave pools, saunas, an ice rink and sports halls that drew millions.
• A 2003 sale of the complex to a private investor for one euro included a commitment to restore bathing operations that was never honored, leading to protracted litigation and eventual forced clearance.
• The study, commissioned by Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin-Mitte and due by year-end, will evaluate converting the site into a sustainable live-work-leisure neighborhood.
• Proposals include more than 550 apartments—half earmarked for subsidized housing—and dedicated commercial areas to help alleviate Berlin’s housing shortage.