First plans for the plot diagonally opposite of Bahnhof Zoo and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin were already made in the early 90s by British architect Richard Rogers on behalf of beverage manufacturer Brau und Brunnen. The plans were replaced, however, by a project of Frankfurt-based architect Christoph Mäckler for a 118 meter, 37-storied building. The first step was taken in 1995 with the demolition of the old buildings. In summer 2001, the lot was sold to the Dr. Ebertz & Partner group, which was planning a luxury hotel for the Hilton group.

However, this project, too, was put on hold at the time, and the district office used the empty lot as advertising space in late 2004. In May 2007, the lot was sold to three Spanish groups of investors in Malaga who aimed to use it for a mix of hotel, shops and offices. This project crashed as well, though. In November 2007, investor Trans Arab Support Service (TASS) from Abu Dhabi acquired the lot and is now planning to finalize the construction of a 32-storied building of 118 meters in height by 2011. It will house the Hilton Group’s first Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel in Germany, as well as apartments and offices. Roughly 180 million euros are expected to flow into the Berlin “Zoofenster” (Zoo Window).

The groundwork is now laid, at long last, for the foundation and three basement floors have been completed for the most part. From now on, construction will be exclusively upward – a crane is on standby. Councilman Klaus-Dieter Gröhler speaks of construction projects amounting to one billion euros around Bahnhof Zoo over the next years: “The Zoofenster will act as a priming for investors.” This includes the 175 meter observation wheel by the Zoo, which is not yet fully financed. It remains to be seen just how the situation around Zoologischer Garten will develop.