The future appearance of the Dragoner site in Berlin's Kreuzberg district is becoming increasingly clear as the state-owned housing company Berlin-Mitte (WBM) has selected two architectural firms for the construction of buildings in the southern section of the controversial development area. After a comprehensive selection process, the decision was made almost unanimously in favor of Berlin and Cologne-based "Mica Architects" and Berlin-based "Kaden Architects," WBM announced on Friday.
The ambitious project will feature all buildings constructed using hybrid wood construction methods, making the Dragoner site a flagship project for climate-friendly urban development in Berlin, according to the housing company. The southern building field is planned to accommodate approximately 240 residential units distributed across five buildings with a combined area of about 21,000 square meters. The ground floors of these structures will include spaces for small commercial areas and community activities.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, according to WBM Managing Director Steffen Helbig, who stated that the development plan process should be completed by 2026. This represents a delay from the originally announced start date of 2025. As the neighborhood development progresses, WBM plans to add a high-rise residential building and develop the so-called northern building field. The winning designs will be displayed in an exhibition at the Dragoner site in early 2026.
Two historic buildings on the property will be converted for social infrastructure purposes, independent of WBM's development. The former horse hospital will be transformed into a daycare center, while the old riding hall will serve as a youth recreation and cultural facility.
The Dragoner site, located behind Kreuzberg's tax office on Mehringdamm, represents one of Berlin's most controversial real estate cases. The 4.7-hectare area has been at the center of urban political disputes for over a decade. The site has a rich military history, with the Guard Dragoon Barracks constructed between 1850 and 1854. The facility was expanded multiple times and eventually encompassed 47,000 square meters, including riding arenas, stables, and several courtyards.
During World War II, the area was used to exploit forced laborers for the Nazi armament industry. After 1945, small businesses and cultural institutions utilized the site. The current controversy began in 2010 when the Federal Institution for Real Estate Tasks (BImA) wanted to sell the area through a highest bidder process. This real estate policy met with massive resistance from civil society initiatives such as "Stadt von Unten" (City from Below) and the "Kiezbündnis am Kreuzberg" (Kreuzberg Neighborhood Alliance).
In October 2014, project developer Arne Piepgras received the contract for 36 million euros, despite the property's assessed value being only 9.6 million euros. However, Piepgras acted as an intermediary for a Czech company that deposited the purchase price in February 2015. The state of Berlin had also expressed interest, with the state-owned Howoge offering 20 million euros together with the Tenants' Syndicate and planning 700 apartments. The decisive turning point came when Finance Senator Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen (SPD) organized a blockade of the sale in the Federal Council.
After the federal government transferred the site to Berlin in 2019, the Dragoner area was supposed to become a flagship project for "cooperative urban development." In a cooperation agreement, the Senate, district, the state-owned housing company WBM, and civil society initiatives committed to 100 percent affordable housing and a significant share of cooperative and community-oriented operators.
However, the project has faced significant criticism regarding its affordability promises. In January 2024, initiatives criticized at a forum that the project was losing its character due to cost considerations and that truly affordable housing was not being created. The "Stadt von Unten" initiative had already withdrawn from the cooperation agreement for these reasons. The conflict escalated again in October 2024 when the conservative-social democratic Senate decided to allocate significantly more land to WBM than originally planned, at the expense of cooperatives, whose land share is to be nearly halved according to reports in the Tagesspiegel.
