Empty Boulevard on Schloßstraße, Berlin
In the heart of Berlin's Steglitz-Zehlendorf district lies Schlossstraße, a historic road with a rich past. Once part of the Reichsstraße 1, a road stretching from Aachen to Lithuania, Schlossstraße has seen its fair share of changes over the centuries.
However, today, Schlossstraße faces a new set of challenges. With numerous empty storefronts on the ground floor of shopping centers and garages rarely more than 20 to 30 percent occupied, the district councilor, Dennis Egginger-Gonzalez, of The Left, is working to revitalize the area.
Eggers-Gonzalez leads tours in Berlin to show the impact of mismanaged urban planning and real estate issues. He observes that garages around Schlossstraße, with a total of about 3,000 spaces, are rarely fully occupied. The "Boulevard Berlin" shopping mall, opened in 2012, has a sales area of 64,000 square meters and 850 parking spaces in the garage, yet it struggles to attract customers.
One of the major obstacles in revitalizing Schlossstraße is the A103 highway, running from Kreuz Schöneberg intersection and parallel to Schlossstraße. The lack of crossing options and the involvement of multiple authorities in urban planning make it difficult to improve the neighborhood's streetscape. Reducing the A103 back to a regular road is the only option to improve the streetscape and create a more integrated neighborhood, but achieving this goal is difficult due to the involvement of different authorities.
Another issue is the suspected speculative vacancy of the "Bierpinsel" on Castle Street, characterized by futuristic-pop architecture. The owner is suspected of engaging in speculative vacancy, as there is no legal recourse to compel the owner to take action due to the lack of a purpose ban for commercial spaces.
The "Pommes Bude der Herzen" was initially scheduled to reopen in 2025, but development is now expected to take at least another four years due to ongoing issues with investors and infrastructure problems. The Castle Street Center shopping mall has been in insolvency proceedings since last year, adding to the concerns about the revitalization of the area.
Despite these challenges, Eggers-Gonzalez remains optimistic. He believes that with the right approach, it is possible to create a more vibrant, people-centered shopping street. Breaking out of the current city model will take decades, but he is confident that it can be done with the help of public authorities.
The district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf refers to the area around Schlossstraße as "one of the most significant shopping streets in the entire country." However, moving away from a car-centric, investor-driven city is a challenging, long-term goal. Public authorities must take on the burden of revitalizing struggling commercial areas, but they should not offer much in return to corporations.
The 1935 board game Monopoly is familiar to every child due to its association with Schlossstraße. As the city works to revitalize this historic street, it will be interesting to see how it evolves and whether it can regain its former glory.
