On a quiet residential street in Berlin's district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf stands the sprawling office complex that Berlin's State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) intends to convert into an accommodation facility for up to 1,500 refugees. The building is located on Soorstrasse in Westend, home to about 20,000 residents, and one of the capital's most affluent neighborhoods, where tree-lined boulevards are strewn with opulent villas, embassy buildings and well-maintained apartment blocks.

"It doesn't bother me really," says a young father out with his baby when asked about the plans, "I just think it would be better for them to be spread out and not in one place."

"I'm not against it," says a middle-aged man who has lived in the area for 24 years, "I just think putting so many people under one roof is going to lead to problems."

Sitting on the terrace at the nearby Ulme35 neighborhood cultural center where a German lesson for Ukrainian schoolchildren is underway, Amei von Hülsen-Poensgen, from the "Willkommen im Westend" alliance that supports refugees in the area, says she "totally shares" the concerns of local residents. "Housing 1,500 people in a former office block is a stupid idea, I'm sorry," she exclaims, adding that she doesn't trust some of the big operators contracted to run refugee accommodation facilities.

Over 30,000 refugees in Berlin are living in accommodation facilities run by the LAF. Many have already had their asylum claims approved but are stuck in state-run facilities because they can't find affordable accommodation on the capital's fiercely competitive real estate market. It is particularly hard for families with more than one child because there simply aren't enough apartments with a suitable number........

© Deutsche Welle