Zurich: New urban quarter in Leutschenbach

The site is 65,000 sq. m. in size is to become a neighborhood with non-profit housing, commercial space, a retirement center and apartments for the elderly, a school building and a public park. About 37,000 sq. m. of the area is earmarked for commercial and residential use. The city intends to build on some of this area itself and to hand over the remaining building plots to non-profit developers. The corresponding building rights are to be put out to tender once the public design plans are in force. This will be followed by project development with architectural competitions for the residential and commercial buildings. A total of around 700 apartments are to be built on the site.

"With its proximity to the Oerlikon train station and directly on Thurgauerstrasse, the site is excellently connected to public transport as well as to the higher-level road network," explains Head of Civil Engineering Filippo Leutenegger. "Attractive commercial areas with customer parking spaces will be created along Thurgauerstrasse. The park and the open outdoor spaces will create attractive places for the entire neighborhood to spend time in and around greenery. The development of the area will also enable greater permeability for pedestrian and bicycle traffic."

The design plans were revised after the public consultation and now better address the neighborhood with the small-scale residential buildings on the western side of the site. Furthermore, the possible preservation of the Schützenhaus in the southern part and of two buildings of significance for the area in the northern part of the site have now been included in the design plans.