Zurich: Municipal housing estates to be refurbished
The city of Zurich plans to comprehensively renovate its Birkenhof and Bullingerhof housing estates in the coming years. The costs amount to a total of around CHF 88.5 million.
The Birkenhof housing estate with its 101 apartments in the Unterstrass district is to be renovated in stages by 2020. The renovation is expected to cost just under CHF 30 million, writes the city of Zurich in a statement.
Birkenhof is one of the oldest urban housing estates: the first tenants moved in in 1926. The settlement, which is listed in the inventory of art and cultural-historical protected objects of municipal importance, was last renovated in the 1970s.
The housing estate consists of six buildings. The renovation will include the replacement of windows and balcony doors, as well as the bathrooms and kitchens, and all cold and hot water pipes. In addition, the electrical installations will be renewed and, in consultation with the monument preservation authorities, it will be examined whether a solar system can be installed.
After the refurbishment, rents will rise, the city of Zurich announces. For 3- or 3½-room apartments, the average net rent would rise from CHF 740 today to CHF 1,060.
Bullingerhof to be renovated for 58.5 million
The Bullingerhof housing estate in the Aussersihl district is also to be redeveloped, with total costs here amounting to CHF 58.5 million. Built in 1930/31, the Bullingerhof with its 223 simply designed apartments (207 of which are three-room apartments) is the largest perimeter block development in the city of Zurich and offers very affordable housing. The Bullingerhof was last renovated in 1975, and now the housing estate is to be made fit for use for another 30 years.
Since the building shell is protected as a historic monument, the settlement can only be upgraded in terms of energy by means of interior insulation, according to the city of Zurich. In addition to the apartments, the estate houses public uses, namely a double kindergarten, the Bullinger meeting place of the social services, and a checkroom and storage building with ZüriWC, which is mainly used by the Sihlfeld school and Grün Stadt Zürich. These parts of the building are also to be renovated. The project also includes the creation of additional bicycle parking spaces.
After the renovation, the net rent for a three-room apartment with an area of between 59 and 62 square meters is expected to rise from CHF 560 to just under CHF 900, according to the city of Zurich.
After the approval of the object credits for the two renovations by the City Council, the construction work, which will be carried out in stages, is scheduled to begin in October 2018 and last about two years. (ah)
