Urban development | Kottbusser Tor: Renovation without regard to losses

Traders fear that they will not be able to return to the New Kreuzberg Center at Kottbusser Tor after the renovation. Photo: imago/Hoch Zwei Stock/Angerer Anyone who walks past Kottbusser Tor knows the passage to Dresdener Straße in the western low-rise building of the New Kreuzberger Center (NKZ), the striking high-rise block on the square. The lighting is bad and it smells like a mixture of urine and vomit. Nevertheless, the route is a popular shortcut.

This could soon be over. The state-owned housing company Gewobag wants to close the passage as part of the upcoming general renovation of the NKZ. It is narrow, difficult to see and is perceived by parts of the residents as a “dream of fear”. At the same time, a larger commercial area would be created.

It was Gewobag itself that had hardly cared about the passage since taking over the NKZ in 2018, says Wolfgang Moser, who represents tenants at the tenant council. "Of course you can let it rot for almost ten years and then say: The bad fear space has to go."

The closure also raises questions in terms of urban planning. If the tunnel is closed, only detours via the back or the passages narrowed by outdoor restaurants remain.

»Gewobag is happy to inform us when the decisions have actually already been made.«

Parts of the tenant council would therefore welcome upgrading the passage instead of closing it. Matthias Coers, also a member of the tenant council, suggests more lighting and reactivating the currently darkened shop windows. In addition, an adequate cleaning concept for the area would be needed, part of which would be under the jurisdiction of Gewobag and part of which would be under the responsibility of the district. Public toilets and a pigeon house on the square would be appropriate, said Coers. “But what happens?” asks his colleague Wolfgang Moser and answers himself: “Nothing!”

The only thing they got was a constantly understaffed police department and AI-controlled cameras, the use of which is controversial. So far with moderate effect. The local drug scene seems bigger than ever, parts of the square appear very neglected, and scenes of violence occur again and again - even during the day.

At the working level, the cooperation works, according to the tenant representatives. Coers praises the efforts of the responsible employee in the Gewobag district office. However, the “culture of inclusion” is inadequate, they emphasize, referring to the company’s top-down structure. “Gewobag is happy to inform us when the decisions have actually already been made,” says Moser.

When it took over the NKZ in 2018, Gewobag committed itself to working closely with the tenant council as part of a cooperation agreement. The Kottbusser Tor is considered to be a role model for “implemented migration and integration policy”; the commercial structure should be preserved.

A restaurateur who wishes to remain anonymous has been running a shop on Kotti for years. The fact that it needs to be renovated is not an issue for them. She points to leaky pipes and porous concrete. It “really rained” into one store. For her, it's more about "the way things are going to happen now." Gewobag asked her to end her rental agreement, which was limited until 2039, by means of a termination agreement. Her shop has to be completely emptied during construction. “Can I continue where I left off?” she asks herself. And even if it is possible to return: “Under what conditions?”

She describes the communication between Gewobag and the traders as mixed. Simply because of language barriers. Some of the operators “don’t speak the German language.” However, there are no interpreters during the discussions.

Gewobag is now conducting individual discussions with companies via an external service provider. According to Gewobag, these were “very constructive” and were intended to clarify perspectives for the construction period and a possible return.

The situation is assessed differently among traders. The representative on the tenant council responsible for the business, who himself runs several shops at the NKZ, points out that the renovation has been known about for years. He does not want to be named. You shouldn't approach the whole thing in a negative way. Many companies have already found space for the transition. He personally doesn't believe there is an existential threat because the new rental agreements would be based on the rent index. When asked how the companies will manage it over the long period and whether they would then actually be able to pay the new rents, he remains vague.

On Thursday, Die Linke is inviting business owners to a meeting. There, questions could be discussed together that each company has had to clarify for itself.

René Pérez Domínguez, the Left Party's district mayoral candidate, calls for "binding commitments for the future" and "clear conditions" with regard to the new rental agreements. Mere repairs would not justify a rent increase. Rent increases that can be justified directly through modernization measures should remain low, said Pérez Domínguez when asked by nd. He wants to avert “commercial gentrification on the Kotti”.

“The goal of maintaining the existing commercial structure and enabling business transfers still applies,” writes a Gewobag spokesman in response to an nd request. The terminations and termination agreements served the “necessary clearance of the affected areas” and not to realign the local business. The aim is to continue to mix local supplies, restaurants, services and social offerings.

The closure of the underpass should make the route at Kottbusser Tor safer and clearer, it goes on to say. “The businesses directly affected support the measure,” writes the Gewobag spokesman. We are taking the tenants' council's advice seriously and will continue to involve it.

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