Zurich: SBB does not want to sell Neugasse site

The background to the Zurich City Council's purchase request is the initiative "One Europaallee is enough - buy the SBB Neugasse site now". The initiators demand the purchase of the entire 29,000 square meter site by the city or its acquisition under building rights. However, a complete sale of the site or a full transfer in building rights is not an option for SBB, as it wants to generate sustainable income to finance the infrastructure and stabilize the pension fund, the railroad company says.

However, SBB has proposed a compromise: Half of the current industrial zone will be given in building rights - to cooperatives for non-profit residential and commercial space and to the city of Zurich for the realization of a school. Half of the apartments that SBB builds will be "limited in price". According to the city of Zurich, SBB is assuming an average rent of less than CHF 2,000 for a three-room apartment.

This means that of the approximately 375 planned apartments, one third would be built on a non-profit basis with building cooperatives. Two thirds will be built by SBB, half of which will be rented out at limited prices and half at market rents.

SBB is handing over the land required for the school to the city of Zurich under building rights. Small businesses, service providers and cultural institutions are to occupy 15 percent of the site, of which one third will be given to cooperatives under building rights.

The Zurich City Council is of the opinion that this proposal by SBB would partially address the concerns of the popular initiative. It therefore requests the municipal council to declare the popular initiative partially valid. In addition, the City Council requests that the Municipal Council mandates it to prepare an implementation bill along the lines of the SBB proposal.