157 million euros for refugee home: residents in Westend indignant!

157 million euros for refugee home: residents in Westend indignant!

Soorstraße 80-82, Berlin, Deutschland - It is bubbling in Berlin! The Senate plans to spend tax money of a proud 157 million euros in order to convert an office building on Soorstrasse, Charlottenburg, as refugee accommodation. But the plan has met with massive resistance from the population. The inhabitants of the Westend district are particularly outraged by this step, because the district is previously known for its calm atmosphere and its pleasant bourgeois charm.

The planned rental should take over over 1500 refugees from 2026, such as the Berliner Kurier reported. Old office buildings that were once used by the State Insurance Institute are to be converted into a mega refugee home. This happens against the background that asylum accommodations such as the former Tegel Airport have long been overcrowded. Almost 5,000 refugees currently live there, with crime continuously increasing. Residents are now worried that similar problems will also occur in the otherwise peaceful Soorstrasse.

Local alarm: "It will be full!"

The residents raise the alarm and fear chaotic conditions if so many people have to live under one roof. In their opinion, there is a lack of in schools, daycare centers and even supermarkets in the area. Another problem child is the question of the distribution of the refugees. Wouldn't it make more sense to outsource them to several places instead of concentrating hundreds in one place? Instead, the Senate plans a ten -year rent of 157 million euros, despite the difficult financial situation of the city. This mammoth sum now causes concern and great resentment.

puzzling rental contracts and political criticism

A point of the discussion is the way this rental offers come about. A network of partly anonymous ownership companies, partly located in tax havens, offers their buildings and is drawing the big profit without great transparency. As a result, the project looks more like a doubtful business with the need for the city of Berlin.

The Berlin taxpayers' association and its chairman Alexander Kraus are skeptical about this project. He warns: "The state of Berlin must not be ripped off by grasshoppers with scrap properties!". In his view, the amount of the planned rents represents a mismatch of the services rendered. In the case of the Soorstrasse office house, the country wants to pay an average of over 40 euros per square meter every month, a price that could be even higher, including ancillary costs. Conversion costs of another 29 million euros, also partially covered by the rent, further increase the sum.

like MSN reports, the main committee will vote on the Senate's secret application in the next few days. But in the city there are already many rumors about the controversial project. Whether the office building will really become a refugee home is expected to be decided on December 11th.

This case shows impressively: There are great questions in Berlin when accommodating refugees. The solution may not be in huge, centralized accommodations, but in a well thought -out, sustainable policy that really does justice to all interests!