Amid a continuing housing shortage for locals, Berlin’s state government has approved the construction of a new container village to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers on Tempelhofer Feld.
The site, once a Nazi labor camp and later an airport, has long been protected by a 2014 law banning new construction, but that law is now being overridden for migrant housing.
According to Senator Cansel Kiziltepe of the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD), the facility will open in the second half of 2028, offering between 1,000 and 1,100 beds. The justification, she says, is that Berlin’s regular shelters for migrants are still overflowing.
Sports and leisure areas are expected to remain intact, though minor amenities like a mini-golf course and barbecue lawn will be relocated. Officials were keen to stress that historically sensitive parts of the former forced labor camp will be left untouched.
Meanwhile, discussions about using Tempelhofer Feld for urgently needed housing for Berliners remain on the back burner. As reported by Junge Freiheit, six proposals for the future of the field are being reviewed, but no decisions will be made until at least September, and a public referendum may be required.
The planned asylum facility will go ahead regardless of what Berliners decide.
This decision follows a pattern of prioritizing asylum seekers over local residents. In 2023, Remix News reported that a new social housing complex in the Spandau district would be reserved exclusively for refugees. The complex, consisting of 128 apartments built by the city-owned WBM housing association, was to house 570 asylum seekers indefinitely, despite the long wait for Berliners seeking social housing.
The financial burden of migration continues to mount for the city. In 2023, Berlin spent at least €2.1 billion on asylum-related costs, accounting for 5 percent of its entire budget.
The state government, facing rising expenses, has turned to emergency borrowing. In March, Economics Senator Franziska Giffey confirmed that Berlin will take on new debt to cover refugee-related spending, taking advantage of relaxed rules under the so-called debt brake introduced by the new Grand Coalition federal government. This allows the city to borrow approximately €670 million annually, totaling €1.3 billion for the 2026 and 2027 budgets.
While money is being poured into housing for migrants, Berliners are facing a severe housing shortage. Germany’s largest cities are short an estimated 800,000 apartments. At the same time, office vacancy rates are at record highs, with enough empty office space to create around 152,000 homes nationwide.
However, the conversion of offices into apartments is being stifled by a raft of 20,000 building regulations, high interest rates, and spiraling construction costs.
Despite these challenges, Berlin’s government continues to rent out office space for migrant housing at rates well above market value. In one case, the State Office for Refugees is paying €40 per square meter for a building that was initially offered at €25.80. Other examples include €165 million for housing 1,500 people in Kreuzberg over 10 years, €143 million for 1,200 people in Lichtenberg, and €118 million for 950 people in Westend.
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