Zurich: Papierwerd site to be redeveloped

The Papierwerd site near the station bridge is a central and valuable urban space, the city council says. The Globus temporary building has been located there for decades, and its demolition has been discussed again and again at the political level. In February 2013, a motion was submitted demanding a redesign of the area and the development of a utilization concept. The city council then carried out a feasibility study and, on the basis of this, an in-depth study in which various variants of a redesign were run through.

"In all the variants examined, it was assumed that the above-ground building of the Globus temporary facility would give way to an open square with a pavilion," the city council informs. A major retailer could move into the first basement of the building on the Papierwerd site, which already exists today, and a public parking garage would be built in the second basement, it continues. By relocating part of the above-ground parking spaces to the parking garage, additional space could be freed up on the surface. The mill walkway would be relocated and widened. The best variant also envisages extending the existing underpass under the station bridge to in front of the Amtshaus II (police station), so that the square as a whole becomes larger.

A project competition is now to be held, followed by the preparation of a preliminary and construction project. In addition to the best variant, a combination of variants is also to be examined. This would allow implementation in two steps by first retaining the existing underpass and designing a smaller square. Later, this project could be further developed by extending the underpass, according to the city council.

If the municipal council approves the project planning credit of CHF 4.1 million, a construction project can probably be submitted in 2021/2022 and construction can begin in 2022/2023.