Bern: Office building to become a school
The city of Bern wants to create new school space in a vacant office property owned by the Axa investment foundation.
There is a lack of school space in the Baumgarten quarter in the east of Bern. For this reason, the city council is planning to build an upper school centre in vacant offices at Nussbaumstrasse 29 and in towers 6 and 7. According to the city of Bern, larger areas are available for rent in these properties, which are owned by the Axa Investment Foundation. It has already been clarified that the office property is suitable to cover the school space requirements of an upper school with a maximum of 18 classes and could also be considered as a school use for a longer period of time.
However, some conversion work is necessary before the new Baumgarten elementary school can start operations in the office building. According to a statement from the city of Bern, the premises on Nussbaumstrasse have neither interior walls, floor coverings nor a complete building services installation. This circumstance is to be used and the arrangement of the rooms is to be designed according to a modern pedagogical concept, according to the city: The pupils are to be provided with personal workplaces in addition to classrooms and specialist rooms. Furthermore, the city of Bern wants to upgrade the roof terraces and provide areas inside the building as break rooms.
According to the City of Bern, a building loan totalling CHF 24.5 million is required for the installation of the school in the service building and for the construction of a new gymnasium. The Axa Investment Foundation has contractually agreed to contribute CHF 5.5 million to the construction costs of its property, so the City of Bern will have to pay CHF 19 million. For the rent of the premises over 25 years, the municipal council is also requesting a commitment credit of 29.5 million.
The voters are expected to vote on the project in May 2022. The Baumgarten elementary school should be able to begin operations at the start of the 2023/24 school year. City President Alec von Graffenried said that in future the municipal council would increasingly consider vacant office space as school space. (ah)
