Berliners have made their choice: Tempelhof Field will not be developed. In a city-wide referendum, around 65% of participants voted for a citizens' initiative bill called "100% Tempelhofer Feld" that prohibits any construction on the site. The Senate's plans for partial development of the former airport grounds have failed.
What the Senate had planned
Under Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, the Senate intended to build up to 4,700 apartments, commercial space and a new central library on the edges of the 386-hectare site. The goal was to address Berlin's growing demand for housing while putting the publicly owned land to economic use.
How the referendum came about
The citizens' initiative collected more than 187,000 valid signatures starting in 2012. Their demand: to permanently preserve the field as an inner-city park and cold-air corridor, and to legally prohibit any commercial development. With the successful referendum, the initiative's bill has become law.
Consequences for the housing market
The loss of 4,700 planned apartments adds pressure to an already tight housing market. For property owners and investors in the adjacent neighborhoods of Neukoelln, Kreuzberg and Tempelhof-Schoeneberg, however, the result also has an upside: the permanent preservation of the open space improves residential quality in the surrounding area. Properties near the field are likely to benefit, since there will be no multi-year construction site and the character of the location is preserved.
The airport building
The referendum does not affect the listed former airport building, which has around 300,000 square meters of gross floor area. Parts of it are already leased to the Berlin police, the traffic control center and various companies. The former hangars serve as event venues for trade fairs and exhibitions. Development and marketing of the building complex continues independently of the open field.
