CS fund plans major project in Spreitenbach

On September 27, the municipal council of Spreitenbach and the owner, the real estate fund CS REF Interswiss, presented the plans and the accompanying Neumatt development plan to the population. The project is intended to bring together the various parts of Spreitenbach and link them in the center. The area around the Shoppi Tivoli, which has so far been dominated by parking lots and streets, will be restructured. For the population, a center park, an esplanade (park/promenade) and several squares will be created.

Around 500 apartments are planned in two high-rise buildings and one long building. The majority of these will be rental apartments, with prices in the middle and upper market segments. The bases of the new buildings will house service outlets and cafés.

Raymond Rüttimann, Head of Development & Construction at Credit Suisse's Real Estate Investment Management, says: "The realization of high-rise buildings enables the park and urban open spaces for the population to be created around them." For the municipality, he says, this means an enrichment of the housing structure, and for the Shoppi Tivoli, the project offers the opportunity to open up to the outside world and become better integrated into everyday life in Spreitenbach.

The first plans were already in place 50 years ago

The vision of a local center between the Shoppi Tivoli and the old village center of Spreitenbach dates back to the 1960s and was already part of the initial considerations for the shopping center. The two high points now planned were also envisaged back then.

With the Spatial Development Strategy (RES) approved by the municipal council in May 2016, Spreitenbach has laid the foundation for implementing the center vision now, 50 years later. Community president Valentin Schmid says: "With the center development, we get a center with urban qualities that connects our village - that is very important for a lively community."

Another advantage for Spreitenbach, he said, is that vacant land adjacent to the planned park will provide space for future municipal infrastructure buildings and a new community center. The canton of Aargau supports the center development. From its point of view, it ensures that settlement development, as envisaged in the new spatial planning law, takes place in well-developed locations and not on the edge of settlements.

The public consultation on the Neumatt development plan started with the political aperitif on September 27 and will continue until November 18, 2016. For the realization of the large-scale project, an amendment to the municipal land use planning for this area is required. The municipal assembly is expected to decide on this in spring 2018. (ah)