Hamburg reacts to the refugee situation and creates space in the former Postbank headquarters

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The occupancy of the accommodation for 900 people will gradually begin in early April. If necessary, the accommodation can be expanded to accommodate up to 1,560 people. The former offices are currently being converted into rooms and common areas, additional sanitary facilities are being built using containers and the former canteen is to be used for catering by a catering company, it said. The lease runs for three years.

Recently, the city had increasingly bought former office buildings to create space for refugees or other needy people, such as an empty hotel in Hamburg-Schnelsen and one of the Mundsburg Towers.

But the city is still lagging behind the requirements, as Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) recently made clear. In addition to money, the federal states and municipalities also need sufficient accommodation to take in refugees. "We have to see that in the metropolises, where space is scarce, it's not just a question of money, but at some point we also need the space or real estate to accommodate people," said the SPD politician in the ntv broadcast "

Hamburg has taken in more than 30,000 refugees from Ukraine alone. Even if some of them were staying with friends or relatives, the city of Hamburg would not only have to pay a lot for caring for the people, said Tschentscher. "I also expect the federal government to see how high the costs are for the states and local authorities."

The municipalities are demanding a long-term strategy for taking in refugees in Germany from the federal and state governments. A federal-state summit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on refugee costs is planned for May 10th.