Basel: Cross-border residential project in planning

The Otterbach Süd site covers 100,700 square meters and is mainly used for agricultural purposes. It is located on the Swiss-German border in the territory of the city of Weil am Rhein, but is owned by the municipality of the city of Basel. According to the land use plan 2022, the site is a planned commercial area. However, because of the tight housing market, Weil am Rhein wants to develop the site as a residential and mixed-use zone.

The German city and the canton of Basel-Stadt are therefore jointly organizing an urban development study for the site. The city and the canton wrote in a joint statement that they are looking for an overall development concept with an open space concept and appropriate traffic connections, which will later be implemented in a development plan. A special feature of the Otterbach Süd site is its heterogeneous surroundings: to the south is the Wiese landscape park, to the east is a former railroad line, to the north is a neighborhood of single-family homes, and to the west is the Bässlergut prison. (ah)