Preparations for demolition have begun at the former Sports and Recreation Center (SEZ) in Berlin. Construction workers with an excavator are working on the site of the GDR's flagship leisure center on Landsberger Allee. Apartments are to be built there. The newspaper "Berliner Kurier" had previously reported on this.
A spokesperson for the state-owned housing association Berlin-Mitte (WBM) explained: "Preparatory work is currently taking place on the outside of our construction project on Landsberger Allee/Danziger Straße." The aim is to prepare the outdoor facilities for the future construction site. "The current activities are exclusively for the preparation of further construction steps."
The state-owned housing association Berlin-Mitte (WBM) plans to build a good 550 new apartments on the approximately 30,000 square meter site in the Friedrichshain district. Of these, 50 percent are to be socially subsidized. It has also announced "a generous commercial area that will enable a sustainable mix of living, working and leisure".
The SEZ attracted millions of visitors
The SEZ was opened in 1981. A wave pool, saunas, an ice rink, a bowling alley and sports halls attracted millions of visitors. There were sporting events, theater performances, concerts and parties. After the end of the GDR, the highly subsidized operation became too expensive for the state of Berlin and was gradually closed down.
Dilapidation after the end of the GDR
The property and the closed baths were sold to an investor by the state of Berlin in 2003. The investor undertook to reopen the baths. However, this did not happen.
In a legal dispute that lasted for years, the state prevailed, but the former owner did not return the SEZ. It was evicted last year. Building Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) then declared that he saw no chance of the SEZ being retained as a fun pool.
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