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The House of Electro-Technology stretches like a felled skyscraper along the northern edge of Berlins Alexanderplatz, limiting views and impeding traffic in the heart of the German capital. The shopworn relic of the former East Germany, an assembly of pre-fabricated glass and aluminum squares, has been called clunky and dehumanizing. Its owners say its outdated and should be replaced. Christine Edmaier wants to save it.

We lose an important part of our history when we tear these buildings down, said Edmaier, head of Berlins Chamber of Architects. Its not about whether theyre beautiful.

A quarter century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Eastern Europes transition to democracy and capitalism, while largely successful, remains a work in progress. Even a generation later, the legacy of communism continues to weigh on the region as governments grapple with issues ranging from the structure of their economies to the quality of food to the fate of brutalist buildings that clash with newer steel and glass structures.

Berlin is battling over how much of its communist architecture to retain, restore, or destroy. The city parliament is set to vote as early as September on a new plan for the square immortalized in films as diverse as Rainer Werner Fassbinders 1980 Berlin Alexanderplatz and the 2004 Matt Damon vehicle The Bourne Supremacy.

The plan could involve offering landmark protection to buildings on the 20-acre (8-hectare) Alexanderplatz. The popular shopping destination sits in the heart of East Berlin and is the now-combined citys busiest transportation hub -- a tangle of underground, elevated and street-level train, bus and tram stops.

Investors who bought properties expecting theyd be able to build high-rises are worried their plans may be scuttled by landmarking rules. Joerg Lammersen, head of the Berlin operations of TLG Immobilien GmbH, which owns the 45-year-old House of Electro-Technology and four other buildings on Alexanderplatz, says the city risks falling behind other European capitals by preserving too many East German relics.

We cant afford to keep the square as a museum, its too central for that, Lammersen said, motioning toward the monotonous 10-story facade of the Electro-Technology building, which has been only marginally improved by new window louvres and entrances. The architecture is not a highlight.

Dallas-based Lone Star Funds in 2012 bought TLG as part of a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) property deal -- and is said to be planning a share offering. Starwood Capital Group LLC, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, holds a stake in the Park Inn hotel on the square. Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) is the biggest tenant at the House of Electro-Technology.

The area is best known for the needle-shaped television tower that has become a Berlin icon. Built in 1969 to mark East Germanys 20th anniversary, the 368-meter (1,207-foot)-tall tower is still the countrys highest structure and can be seen across the city. Otherwise, Alexanderplatz has few memorable characteristics other than its daunting size and the jumble of large, socialist-era buildings that now house chain stores, fast-food restaurants, and fashion discounters.

The prefabricated blocks, built with great fanfare by East Germanys star architects in the 1960s and 1970s, still speak volumes about their history. Theres the House of Travel, former headquarters of the state-owned travel agency and airline -- within walking distance of the heavily guarded Death Strip of the Berlin Wall that kept citizens penned in. The House of the Teacher has a Diego-Riviera-style mural depicting scientists, athletes and a woman holding a baby. At the 37-story mirror-glass Park Inn, the flagship of the state-owned Interhotel chain, all the rooms were bugged and prostitutes were hired to spy on guests.

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25 Years After Communism, Eyesores Spur Landmark Debate