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The new district opens in the middle of the crisis. Despite the difficult initial situation, the project has a future, experts say.
The dimensions are enormous: numerous restaurants and bars, two hotels, a congress center, the largest ambulatory clinic in Switzerland and offices for thousands of employees. In Kloten, the billion-dollar “Circle” project opened Thursday in an area the size of 21 football fields.
«The circle» – the construction site
| Excavation | 360,000 cubic meters |
| Embedded concrete | 167,000 tons |
| Built-in iron | 22,000 tons |
The work was carried out on the largest construction site in Switzerland for five years. The result is a superlative project in the immediate vicinity of Zurich airport. Customers Swiss Life AG and Flughafen Zürich AG have invested one billion francs, 6,500 people can now use their offices and the two hotels can offer their 500 rooms to customers.
“The circle” – the numbers
| total area | 160,000 square meters |
| Commercial space | 25,000 square meters |
| Office space | 70,000 square meters |
| Convention Center | 2500 guests |
| Conference hall | 1500 guests |
| Office space | 6,500 jobs |
| Outpatient clinic | 1000 patients |
| Hotels | 500 rooms |
For those in charge of the megaproject, the inauguration comes at a bad time. The ceremonial ceremony was originally supposed to take place in September, but structural delays and the crown pandemic led to delays. Without a doubt, the airport would have liked to open now at a time when restaurants have few customers, bars are closed and more and more hotels are closing.
Mixed use as a recipe for success
Patrick Schnorf, Retail Director of Wüst Partner, does not see the situation as dramatic: “Of course there are uses such as sales areas that are required by official restrictions. But we do not have a second lock and the project is excellently positioned with mixed uses. “The combination of different industries, from healthcare to office, IT to gastronomy with relaxation room and parking, will guarantee the use. The project must continue to operate for 50 years and not for the next six months.
It is also not a disadvantage that the frequencies at Zurich airport are not available due to poor flight operations. “The dependence on the airport is very low on this project,” continues Schnorf. “The sales and health areas, as well as the hotel industry, are very easily accessible with a wide variety of transportation modes.” The airport should be seen more as a kind of bonus.
Home office as an obstacle to the future?
A wide variety of areas should provide revitalization: the customers in the stores, the patients in the outpatient clinic of the university hospital and, above all, the thousands of employees in the office space. The future must show whether this will also be the case in home office times. Additionally, the high level of vacancies in office space in the airport region could prove fatal to the project, which is currently 20 percent.
Real estate expert Beny Ruhstaller says: “There is currently a lot of office space throughout the northern Zurich region.” And because of Corona, there is probably a bit more available than usual. This could lead to less local competition, he believes. However, the “Circle” benefits from the fact that, unlike many other office spaces in the area, the offices are extremely modern and the location is attractive thanks to its shops and recreational areas.
Everything is not open yet
Therefore, according to experts, there is a possibility that the concept of “Circle” works. Today at least the starting shot is given, a starting shot that not all restaurants, bars and shops have yet followed. Today nine stores and four restaurants open, and the outpatient clinic of the university hospital is now open. And hotels, offices and gyms, for example, will follow in the weeks and months to come.
