Tall & Urban News

A slim majority of voters in Zurich has greenlighted the construction of a new 18,000 all-seat football stadium in the city, which will be adjoined by two high-rise buildings/ 
 
 “Project Ensemble”, which is proposed to include office space and high-rise apartment buildings with more than 500 flats, will rise the Hardturm neighborhood of the city. The project received narrow approval from local voters, with 53.8 percent in favor of the proposal to sell the 55,000-square-meter plot to private investors, including Credit Suisse. 
 
The whole development has an estimated cost of $571 million.  
 
Investors have promised to finance the new stadium with earnings from unit sales, in addition to city allowance for lower tax rates on the flats. 
 
Two high-rise buildings will be included in the project.  The two towers are each proposed to rise 137 meters, surpassing Zurich’s current tallest, The Prime Tower, at 126 meters. Local association and protest group IG Freiräume Zurich has voiced its disapproval of the plans, coming out “in defense of green spaces.” 
 
The new stadium is projected to be completed in 2022, but further protests and complaints that have been filed with the city could still derail construction. Back in 2003, a 30,000-capacity stadium was proposed for Zurich as a public-private partnership. That project was later abandoned, even after public approval, over administrative court action. 
 
For more on this story, go to Inside World Football.