Hagenow Land: Was wird aus dem alten preußischen Bahnbetriebswerk? Was will der neue Eigentümer?

In September 2021, I visited the old Prussian railway depot Hagenow Land with my camera for the first time. It was in a terrible state. The grounds were overgrown, large sections of the engine shed roof had rotted away and collapsed into the building. About 100 meters away, the new Hagenow Land depot was inaugurated in 1928. Since then, no locomotives had been housed in the old shed. Instead, a wagon repair shop, known as WAS, repaired freight cars and, finally, some locomotives there until 1993. And today? Today, all the overgrowth on the site has been cleared, the collapsed roofs have been removed from the ruins, and the old engine shed has been gutted. That something was finally happening at the old Prussian railway depot after many years of decay and vandalism became apparent in the autumn of 2023. The only question was, what was happening here – demolition or reconstruction? Rumors abounded, but no one knew the specifics – not even the responsible authorities. Who had commissioned the work? Was it DB Netz, the previous owner? Or who owned the land and buildings now? At one point, it was said that a foreigner had bought everything. But why? Many questions can now be answered. The new owner is the Berlin-based company Lakestar Properties. They aren't railway enthusiasts; rather, the company is interested in the renovation and marketing of old buildings. They demonstrated their approach in the capital with the old palm kernel oil storage facility, which Lakestar acquired from a previous Russian owner, renovated, and converted into residential units ranging in size from 190 to 550 square meters. And what are the plans for this old locomotive shed? Lakestar managing director Glenn Pearson, who has been personally involved in the project since 2023, initially focused on securing the outer walls of the five-bay shed section dating back to 1903. The new owners are considering constructing a new building amidst the remaining outer walls, which are reminiscent of church ruins from earlier times. Whether it will be for residential or commercial use has not yet been decided.