Basel-Stadt: Over 400 new apartments were built in 2016
More than 400 new apartments were built in the canton of Basel-Stadt in 2016. And the brisk residential construction activity is continuing in the new year.
According to a statement by the Statistical Office, 412 new apartments were built in the canton of Basel-Stadt last year. Taking into account the increase in housing due to conversions and demolished apartments, the stock even increased by 443 apartments last year.
The two new high-rise residential buildings at Schorenweg 36 and 38 (137 rental apartments) in Hirzbrunnen and the residential buildings on the Kestenholz AG site (105 new rental apartments, including 25 apartments for the elderly) in the Breite district were the main contributors to the good results, according to the canton.
Housing production has kept pace with population growth. But the canton emphasizes that additional living space is still needed because new jobs will be created in the canton in the next few years, which will also increase the demand for housing.
Wide range of rental prices
The annual increase in rental prices was below two percent in 2016. The net rent for an average three-room apartment was CHF 1,177 in November, but the range is wide. Cooperative apartments cost an average of CHF 850 rent for three rooms. In contrast, new apartments of the same size cost an average of CHF 2,144 per month.
Canton promotes cooperatives
The canton of Basel-Stadt aims to promote non-profit housing through the provision of land under building rights, guarantees, project development loans, specific advisory services and tax incentives. Currently, more than 4,000 cooperative apartments are located on building lease parcels owned by the canton. That is around 40 percent of the total stock of cooperative apartments in the canton of Basel-Stadt.
In recent years, additional sites have been selectively given to cooperatives. As a result, around 1,000 new cooperative apartments will be created over the next few years. A total of over 150 apartments will already be completed in 2017 on Kohlistieg in Riehen and on Belforterstrasse near Bachgraben. Construction is about to begin on 97 cooperative apartments on the Schoren site, which are expected to be ready for occupancy in 2018. A further 750 or so apartments are in the planning phase on the Felix Platter, Stadtrand Nordwest and Riehenring 3 sites.
Residential construction production remains high
The canton and private developers are also investing in housing construction. The canton is building around 50 apartments for a mixed population on Maiengasse. On the Erlenmatt Ost site, where the Habitat Foundation has granted building rights to various housing developers, the first apartments will be ready for occupancy this year. The largest private residential projects currently under construction are Magnolienpark in Gellert (250 apartments), the Meret Oppenheim high-rise at SBB station (150 apartments) and a new building on Rosentalstrasse near Messe (81 apartments).
The canton sees the greatest potential for additional residential space in the heavily underused industrial sites. Specifically, the government council would like to enable additional work and residential uses on the following six sites by 2035: Walkeweg, VoltaNord (Lysbüchel), Klybeck industrial site (klybeckplus), Wolf Nord, Dreispitz, and Hafen- und Stadtentwicklung Klybeck-Kleinhüningen.
