Berne: SBB buys half of the Bubenberg Centre
SBB has purchased half of the Bubenberg Center in Bern, which is located between the station area and Hirschengraben.
According to local media, SBB is expected to demolish its half of the building and replace it with a new building. The owners of the other half have provisionally rejected a sale. A project competition is planned for the new building, which is to be put out to open tender in consultation with the city of Bern. Exact dates have not yet been set. According to media reports, the city and SBB are assuming a similar tenant mix as today with offices and service areas. Residential and hotel uses are also possible, according to the city of Bern.
From the city's point of view, a partial new construction of the Bubenberg Center will provide a better solution for the planned new Bubenberg station access. The billion-dollar "Zukunft Bahnhof Bern" (ZBB) project envisages the construction of a new RBS underground station under the current "Welle" and a pedestrian underpass from Grosse Schanze to Bubenbergplatz in a first stage by 2025. Work on the RBS station and underpass will begin in early 2017 at the earliest. (ah)
