Berlin’s Senate on 13 October 2026 approved the implementation concept, including the time and measures plan, for the new urban quarter Blankenburger Süden in the district of Pankow. The mixed-use quarter is to provide around 8,600 homes and 35 hectares of commercial space. The decision sets the framework for the development and ties construction to new transport infrastructure in the city’s north-east.

What the Senate decided

The decision was taken on a proposal from Christian Gaebler, Senator for Urban Development, Building and Housing, and Ute Bonde, Senator for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment. The concept was drawn up during the preparatory studies and contains a time and measures plan as well as a cost and financing overview. By approving it, the Senate also took note of the identified financing need. The Senate further agreed to the intended designation of an urban development measure for one part of the new quarter.

How the development measure works

The new quarter consists of three separate quarters. For one of them, Quartier Süd in the area of today’s Heinersdorf commercial zone and neighbouring green spaces, the conditions under Section 165 of the Federal Building Code are met. An urban development measure is an instrument of special urban planning law. Among other things, it allows the State of Berlin to acquire private plots on an interim basis to secure the swift execution of site preparation works for which the municipality is responsible. The decision on the measure is expected in the first quarter of 2027.

Transport as a precondition

The Senate describes the building and upgrading of transport infrastructure as a mandatory precondition for developing the three quarters. Planned measures include extending the M2 tram line and expanding and building supra-local roads and cycle paths. According to the Senate, these measures are also meant to improve traffic across Berlin’s entire north-east. Bonde said the concept provides a roadmap for roughly the next two decades.

Timeline and background

The project page of the Senate Department gives further details:

  • Location: Pankow, between the village centres of Blankenburg and Heinersdorf, about 7 to 8 km in a straight line from Alexanderplatz
  • Development area: about 159 hectares, selected from a 430-hectare study area
  • Status: one of Berlin’s “new urban quarters” since 2016
  • First homes: ready for occupancy in individual sub-areas from about 2030
  • Completion: planned by 2040

Large parts of the land are owned by the State of Berlin, so housing plots can be offered to state-owned housing companies, cooperatives and public-interest developers to ensure that mostly affordable homes are built. The plans also include schools, daycare centres and green spaces.