Swiss Life project in Dietikon goes before the people
At the end of November, Dietikon will vote on the Lägernstrasse private design plan. Swiss Life and Solida want to replace the housing estate there with new buildings.
The development on Lägernstrasse in Dietikon comprises 13 apartment buildings that are now in need of renovation and no longer meet today's requirements, for example in terms of age-appropriate living. Swiss Life and Solida Versicherungen are the landowners of seven plots of land between Römerstrasse, Keltenstrasse, Gassackerstrasse and Badenerstrasse, the majority of which belongs to Swiss Life.
The site borders directly on the route of the Limmattalbahn and is therefore in the area of the planned city boulevard, which is why the city of Dietikon is also interested in its further development. In December 2020, it signed an urban development contract with Swiss Life in which the insurer undertakes to build a sustainable construction project (Minergie P-Eco) and, among other things, to create a new public square and a public bicycle parking facility in the area of the Limmattalbahn stop. A total of eight residential buildings with around 175 rental apartments are to be built.
The municipal council approved the design plan in May, but critics of the development have lodged a referendum. They complain that the new building project will result in the loss of affordable housing. On the basis of the cantonal planning and building law (PBG), the city could have demanded that some of the new apartments be rented at low prices, but the city and municipal councils have not done so. The referendum will be held on November 27. If the design plan is approved, demolition of the apartment buildings is expected to begin in the second half of 2024. The new buildings will be ready for occupancy in mid-2027 at the earliest. (ah)
