Basel: Council discusses plans for Rose Valley Tower
MCH Messe Basel would like to replace the parking garage on Messeplatz, which is in need of renovation, with a high-rise building containing apartments, a hotel and service areas, as well as an underground parking garage. The government council has now submitted the development plan required for this to the Grand Council.
For the realization of the Rosentalturm, MCH Messe Basel intends to hand over the project to a private investment company - similar to the Messeturm project. The private investment company is then to be responsible for the dismantling of the multi-storey parking lot and the construction of the new high-rise building.
The new Rosentalturm is to include a hotel with 140 to 200 rooms, around 90 to 140 apartments and office space for 500 to 600 workplaces. At least 1,000 square meters of gross floor area are planned for neighborhood-related uses on the first floor - such as a daycare center, neighborhood store, library or café. An underground parking garage with around 1,400 parking spaces is planned to replace the existing trade fair parking garage.
The new development plan amends the provisions for the construction area of the trade fair parking garage and establishes the provisions for the construction of the Rose Valley Tower. In particular, this concerns the maximum permissible building height - a maximum of 110 meters - and the shell lines. A new building project can be realized within these shell lines.
Government Council is in favor of the project
The government council welcomes MCH Basel Exhibition's project because it consistently pursues the existing guiding principle of a "trade fair in the city". The relocation of the multi-storey parking lot below ground level creates opportunities to make far better use of the space than is the case today, also from an urban perspective, it says in a statement.
In the view of the government council, the uses on the first floor would significantly revitalize Messeplatz and the Rosental complex - regardless of the trade fair dates. In addition, the Rosentalturm with its apartments and service areas would contribute to inner densification in a location that is optimally served by public transport.
Objections to the land-use planning measures were raised by the VCS Verkehrsclub der Schweiz, Basel section, the Neutraler Quartierverein Oberes Kleinbasel and the GRASS housing cooperative, although the objections were largely identical, according to the government council: Objections were made to traffic and environmental aspects. The Neutral Neighborhood Association Oberes Kleinbasel and the GRASS housing cooperative were not entitled to raise objections, and for the VCS the statements in the development plan on possible traffic violations were too vague in terms of measures and sanctions. This had been complied with. The remaining objection points of the VCS should be rejected, the government council requested.
Further high-rise buildings are being built around the Messeturm: the property at Rosentalstrasse 17 (formerly Zurich Houses), which is currently under construction, and the Claraturm at the corner of Clarastrasse and Riehenring. A total of around 280 apartments as well as service areas are being built.
