When the southern runway at the new BER Airport goes into full operation on 4 November 2020, the countdown begins for Tegel Projekt GmbH. Six months later, on 5 May 2021, Tegel Airport will be released from the administrative planning approval process and will no longer be an airport. As soon as all safety-relevant facilities have been dismantled by the Berlin airport company, Tegel Projekt GmbH can take over the site. “We have planned a lot and waited a long time for our take-off permit, but now all signs are green to bring Berlin TXL, one of the largest development projects in Europe, to fruition. A city of the future will be created here on 500 hectares, social, sustainable, highly innovative, with probably the largest timber construction quarter in Europe,” says Dr Philipp Bouteiller, Managing Director of Tegel Projekt GmbH. “The plans are ready, the utilisation concept is in place and we are looking forward to starting preparations for the first construction phase before the end of 2021.” An information centre will be set up in the airport administration building for all interested parties once the site has been handed over to Tegel Projekt GmbH. A first info point will be available there from 8 November 2020; and at www.zukunft-berlintxl.de you can get a digital overview of the planned after-use.
Before the first excavators roll in, Tegel Projekt GmbH wants to open the airport once more in August 2021. At the “Open Day”, not only the buildings will be open, but for the first time also the airside with the taxiway and the runways, which has always been sealed off until now. “It will certainly be an exciting day for all Berliners. A look behind the scenes of the former airport will be just as possible as a look into the future, at the new chapter of Berlin TXL, with the Urban Tech Republic, the Schumacher Quarter and the huge new landscaped area,” says Dr Philipp Bouteiller. “We hope that the Corona situation next summer will allow us to create a memorable day for everyone before the site becomes a major construction site for several years.” From autumn 2021, construction roads will be made, construction logistics will be set up and the first contaminated sites will be cleared. At the same time, Tegel Projekt GmbH is expanding the range of information on site and will then also offer exhibitions, events and guided tours. Also in 2021, the first award procedures will begin for the plots in the Urban Tech Republic and in the Schumacher Quarter, which can be built on by the municipal housing associations, housing cooperatives and private building groups. From 2022 onwards, the renovations in the existing buildings will begin, parallel to which the leasing for interim uses will be ramped up here, and the first civil engineering work will also begin in the Schumacher Quartier. Provided the planning and construction process runs smoothly, the first tenants will be able to move into their flats from 2027. The former Terminals A and B, the Tower or the hangars will then be completely converted so that the Beuth University of Applied Sciences can move in and the Start-up and Innovation Centre can begin operations.
Berlin TXL – the project
Starting in 2021 and over a period of about 20 years, not only a completely new district will be created on the 500-hectare site of Tegel Airport, but also the model for the smart, sustainable and social city of tomorrow: with the Urban Tech Republic, a research and industrial park for urban technologies, the Schumacher Quarter with over 5,000 flats for more than 10,000 people and a 200-hectare landscape park.
Tegel Projekt GmbH
The state of Berlin has commissioned Tegel Projekt GmbH with the development and management of Berlin TXL. The state-owned company employs around 50 people (as of October 2020). Among other things, they deal with the planning for the building construction and the technical, energy and traffic infrastructure as well as with the preparation of sales and the communication of the project to the public.
