For the first time in more than 20 years, a high-rise residential building is being built in Potsdam. In June, the Potsdam housing association “Karl Marx” wants to start building a twelve-story building and a five-story block in the Waldstadt. First, the excavation pit is to be excavated and the shell construction started in September, as cooperative board member Sebastian Krause explained to the PNN. By the end of 2025, a total of 83 apartments with an area of 6700 square meters should be available for occupancy.
29 apartments will have four or more rooms, which will primarily benefit families. The apartment on the twelfth floor of the high-rise building towards the city center is to be available as a guest apartment to all members of the cooperative and their visitors. Two common rooms, each 40 square meters in size, with a kitchen and toilet are also planned in both buildings.
At the beginning of the project, the “Karl Marx” assumed total costs of 21 million euros, but due to the increased construction costs, an investment sum of 25 million euros is currently being assumed. The plans are not without controversy. The Greens called for lower development, but did not find a majority in the city council. There is no development plan for the area.
100 trees are felled
Last year, the old Sero hall used for bouldering was demolished. Large-scale clearing work is currently taking place on the outskirts of the forest town: around 100 trees are being felled on an 8,870 square meter property on the Zum Kahleberg road. The tree felling is scheduled to be completed by February 17. “We have permission to fell 179 trees,” Krause said.
However, they want to leave it at 100 trees: “We do not use our felling permit on the edge areas and only fell the trees that absolutely have to be felled for the construction of the buildings. The charm and quality of the Waldstadt is life in and around the forest, and we want to preserve this quality, as well as in our completed Waldgarten quarter.” This is also located in the Waldstadt on Zum Jagenstein street.
The plot of land for the new building project is on the edge of a landscape protection area, the felling work is being carried out with the approval of the forest authority and the nature conservation authority. These had allowed the permanent conversion of forest into building land. The residents were informed about this during a neighborhood talk in mid-January.
“The forest conversion area on our property is 3452 square meters,” says Krause. For this purpose, the cooperative was obliged to have an area of the same size reforested and to have an existing forest area of 17,288 square meters ecologically converted. “Of course, we have fulfilled both obligations,” says Krause.
Only recently, tree work near the forest city caused complaints from residents because the state forestry agency had felled numerous trees. This involved maintenance work to remove old and diseased trees and make room for young trees.
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