Berlin officials say the expansive grounds around Tempelhof Airport will open as parkland in stages over the next year while city planners decide what to do with the massive terminal building.
Berlin development minister Ingeborg Junge-Reyer announced the plan Monday at the airport — the hub of the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift — which closed to air traffic last October.
Junge-Reyer said tours of the grounds will begin next month followed by limited use for sports in October. Next May, some 300 hectares (740 acres) will open as a park.
The terminal is one of the world's biggest free-standing buildings and a protected landmark, but city officials and residents are struggling to reinvent it. Proposals have included a spa, condos, a museum or a trade center.