St. Gallen plans new district in St. Fiden
The city of St. Gallen is planning a new district on the former St. Fiden railroad site. At the end of 2012, the city acquired the site from the SBB. Over the next three years, a multi-stage planning process will clarify the future development of the St.Fiden-Heiligkreuz district and the area around the train station.
In total, the area comprises the 1.9-hectare site that once belonged to the SBB, as well as the municipal "Fellhof" site, which served as the horticultural office's depot until 2015. Migros Ostschweiz also has development plans in St. Finden: The "Migros Bach" shopping center is to be completely renovated or newly built to meet today's needs once again.
According to the city of St. Gallen, the first step will be to determine the urban planning goals and uses for the affected quarters by means of a future image. This will be followed by an urban planning competition for the core area at the train station. Subsequently, planning regulations and infrastructure plans will be drawn up as a basis for the implementation of building projects. The city council has already approved the planning credit of CHF 1.48 million for the attention of the city parliament.
From the perspective of the City Council, the area around the St. Fiden train station holds considerable development potential. The area forms an important inner-city reserve and is designated in the structure plan as an economic focus area and as an area for public-intensive facilities. Due to the good access quality and the location close to the city center, the city is striving for a dense urban development with a mix of uses and high-quality public outdoor spaces.
The city wants to involve direct residents, the St. Fiden and Heiligkreuz neighborhoods, landowners and other interested parties in the planning process. A picture of the future is to be drawn up with them, showing which uses are right and which should be excluded. This will be followed by an urban planning competition on the core area at the station. One topic of the overall planning is also whether a roofing over of the urban highway and the railroad line could be possible. For this, not only the urban planning but also the economic prerequisites would have to be clarified. (ah)
