A new social housing project situated in the heart of the German capital whose units are reserved exclusively for asylum seekers has prompted sharp criticism from some right-of-center lawmakers.
The 128-unit apartment complex, situated in Askanierring in the Spandau borough in Berlin, is being constructed by Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin-Mitte (WBM) housing association and is set to be completed in May of 2024. Upon its completion, the housing project will welcome 570 asylum seekers who are expected to live there for an unspecified amount of time before Berliners are welcomed, BZ Berlin reports.
According to WBM, the project will consist of one- to five-room apartments ranging in size from 35 to 100 square meters.
Lars Dormeyer, the managing director of WBM, hailed the project as a “successful example of sustainable and needs-based construction,” and said it would “contribute to the integration of refugees.” He also noted that eventually the apartments would be made “available to the general housing market” and become a “long-term attractive living space for all Berliners.”
Just when Berliners will be allowed to move in remains unclear. “There is currently no date when the first Berliners can move in,” a WBM spokeswoman told BZ Berlin. Senator for Urban Development Christian Gaebler (SPD) gave a vague answer when asked when the housing project would welcome Berliners, simply saying: “later.” Gaebler’s spokesperson echoed his remarks in a statement, saying: “It’s not possible to give an exact date.” He added that it depends on how long the apartments are needed to accommodate asylum seekers.
The failure to provide an exact date when the apartments will be opened to Berliners prompted sharp criticism from an unnamed CDU member of parliament, who, when speaking to the Berliner Zeitung, called it “unbelievable.”
“After three years at the latest, the apartments should be free for Berliners,” the CDU politician said.
Construction of the social housing project whose units are reserved exclusively for asylum seekers comes after the WBM announced in late May the construction of another housing project—this time reserved for lesbian and queer women only—in Mitte, Berlin’s central borough which is home to some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the Brandenburg Gate and the Hauptbahnhof central train station.
