Thun: More non-profit housing on the Freistatt site

According to the city of Thun, the public participation showed that the zoning plan amendment for the Freistatt site is widely accepted.

The perimeter of the test planning covers an area of about 24,000 sqm. 14 buildings with 72 apartments in building rights on city land belong to the non-profit building and housing cooperative (GBWG) Freistatt. The properties need to be renovated, and according to a feasibility study, renovation would be considerably more expensive than a new construction project. Included in the planning were 30 apartments in five buildings on two adjacent parcels of land owned by the city of Thun, as well as the smaller Swiss Post property with the Länggasse post office building. New residential space is now to be created on the site in a dense construction method; among other things, neighborhood-related and public-oriented uses are also planned at the Länggasse/Mattenstrasse junction.

The municipal council has decided to increase the share of the area for cooperative housing from a quarter to a third. This is the only way that the existing 72 apartments of GBWG Freistatt can be renovated in line with the times, it says. It is also possible to increase the proportion of non-profit housing, but this is not explicitly stipulated in the ZPP regulations.

The zone plan amendment will now be submitted to the canton for preliminary examination. This will be followed by the public display and objection process. The Thun City Council is expected to decide on the zone plan amendment in spring 2019. It is subject to an optional referendum. Subsequently, an architectural competition is to be held to address points of criticism from local residents - building heights, parking spaces, energy regulations. A result is not expected before spring 2020. Subsequently, the concrete construction projects are to be worked out in stages. This means that construction can begin in 2022 at the earliest.