After less than two years of construction, the shell of the 140-meter-high future Amazon headquarters on Warschauer Strasse in Berlin-Friedrichshain is complete. Urban Development Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) came to the construction site for the topping-out ceremony on Wednesday. "Where construction workers still work high above the city, a unique view of Berlin awaits us on a public roof terrace", he shared. The building is expected to be completed by the end of next year. It would then be the tallest skyscraper in the city.
Residents and district politicians criticize the project with the name "Edge East Side Berlin" for years. City councilor Florian Schmidt (Greens) tried to take legal action against it in 2019. But the permits had been there for years.
The trading platform giant Amazon wants to use most of the 37 floors in the building to employ around 3,400 well-paid employees. The critics fear that this will further promote gentrification in the districts of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg and throughout the city. (dpa)