Berlin's Bar 25, a carnivalesque open-air nightclub beloved by that city's after-party set, was forced to close a few years ago. Located on the banks of the Spree River on what is now prime real estate, the club was known for its wooden shacks, tree swings, sound-system in a motor home, and, of course, copious amounts of drugs. Now the erstwhile club owners have purchased the land—formerly owned by the city's refuse removal agency—and for their second act intend to turn it into a multi-use development for "former clubbers" with a "1990s Berlin" theme, according to the German news magazine Der Spiegel. Oddly, a Swiss pension fund is bankrolling the whole thing.
The plans for the site, which is the size of 2.5 football fields, have yet to receive approval from the city, but it appears that the club impresarios are planning not only a co-op for the former clubbers, but also office spaces for tech start-ups, music studios, a nightclub, a restaurant, a hotel, and naturally, a fish farm on the roof. The concept is centered around how to age within club culture, presumably gracefully. But the housing rules seem particularly rigid: apartments will not be for sale, and the owners' don't want anyone to live there for more than 900 days. After two decades of dancing all night, can't Berlin's former club kids settle down and relax? "Settling down is taboo," a representative of the company told Der Spiegel.
· Hipster Village: Berlin Nightlife Grows Up [Der Spiegel]
· All Development Watch posts [Curbed National]
Loading comments...