Residential construction Plan for high-rise building on Zurich's Bucheggplatz approved

The municipal council of the city of Zurich approved the "Brunnenhof" private design plan on Wednesday evening. A municipal foundation intends to build a 13-storey high-rise on the busy Bucheggplatz.

The Family Housing Foundation (SFW) is planning a 40-metre-high building with 20 non-profit five-and-a-half-room apartments. This is to be connected to their "Brunnenhof" development built in 2007.

The SFW project, which was known as the Foundation for Large Families until 2022, was practically undisputed in Zurich's municipal council. The AL also backed the deal: "Our reservations about high-rise buildings are well known, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages here," said Karen Hug (AL). Living space for 100 people would be created; twelve people live there today.

The private design plan was approved with 109 votes in favor, 0 against and one abstention. This is necessary because only buildings with a height of 25 meters would be permitted on the site according to standard construction methods.

As a public use of the first floor is planned, "a new attractive urban space will be created at Bucheggplatz", the city council stated. In addition, the SFW buildings would protect Buchegg Park from the noise of Hofwiesenstrasse.

30 km/h proposal withdrawn

The Greens had actually submitted an accompanying postulate to protect not only the park, but also the residents of the planned high-rise and the existing buildings from noise.

They had justified their motion by stating that the high-rise building would partially exceed the immission limits and that an exemption permit would be required for construction. They wanted to call on the city council to "prioritize the introduction of a 30 km/h speed limit on Hofwiesenstrasse" and not wait until 2033 to implement it.

"However, our postulate is unlikely to speed up the process," said Jürg Rauser (Greens) on Wednesday evening. The first steps towards a 30 km/h speed limit have been taken, but implementation is dependent on various other factors. "Public housing is the most important thing here," said Rauser and withdrew the postulate, which could have led to a fundamental debate on 30 km/h.

SDA