UBS Direct Residential buys

In November, the Fund signed a purchase agreement for the new "Zentrum" development project to be built on Staufergutstrasse in Oftringen in the canton of Aargau. The development will be built in a good location from a traffic point of view; it consists of two detached multi-family buildings with around 560 sqm of commercial space on the lower floors. The 29 apartments will be built in a mix of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 rooms. The two buildings will be connected by a communal underground parking garage with 46 parking spaces; twelve visitor parking spaces are also planned outside.

The new building project will be built according to the Minergie standard. The flat roof will be extensively greened and equipped with solar collectors, the facades will be thermally insulated from the outside and the windows will be triple glazed. Heat for the entire property will be generated by a gas heating system and heat will be distributed via underfloor heating. In addition, a controlled ventilation system will be installed.

UBS Direct Residential has acquired the project on a turnkey basis, and the property will thus only be added to the portfolio after completion in the 2018/2019 financial year. The investment volume amounts to CHF 15 million.

Back in October, the fund acquired a residential and commercial property at Herrengasse 17/17a and Löwengasse 3 in Balsthal (SO). The investment costs of around CHF 4.5 million include two apartment buildings with a total of 26 apartments, two stores, an office, two archive rooms and 13 parking spaces. For Herrengasse 17a, which is currently rented out as a training room, there is an approved construction project that provides for the installation of two 3.5-room maisonette apartments.

UBS Direct Residential achieved a performance of 4.9 percent in the 2015/2016 financial year. The portfolio volume increased by CHF 14 million to CHF 524 million. (ah)