Chur West builds slowly toward a second city centre

Chur’s planned second city centre is advancing slowly: only 170 people now live in Chur West, 13 years after the city began consulting residents on its vision, SRF reports. The plans allow for up to 6,500 residents as well as workplaces.

Two white towers on the outskirts of Chur mark the start of the project. The district was meant to grow into a lively centre with public squares and street cafés, but garages and industrial buildings still dominate the surroundings. The planned development covers an area about the size of 23 football pitches.

City councillor Leonie Liesch, a former tourism director, said in retrospect that the project may have started with too ambitious a vision. Simon Gredig, the third city official to oversee construction since the public consultation began in 2013, said turning the desire to build into a project that can receive approval takes considerable work.

The city owns about a quarter of the development area, according to a 2023 master plan. Most of that land is subject to building-rights agreements that allow others to build on and use it for a set period. To redevelop the plots before those agreements expire, the city must reach an agreement with the rights holders.

There was also no shared vision for the district for a long time. The 2023 master plan described development as having been “very piecemeal and rather accidental”. Despite an area plan adopted in 2017, the overall design remained insufficiently clear.

Political support for the broader vision has not guaranteed backing for every step. Residents approved an expansion of Chur West station in 2022, but rejected a land swap by a wide margin two years later. The city had intended, among other things, to secure land for the station square and simplify ownership.

The new station is due to open at the end of the year. Trains will stop on the upper level, while bus stops, a bicycle station and a public square are planned below. A third high-rise is under construction. Gredig said these are important steps, but that a centre does not come into being overnight.

The district is intended to become largely free of motorised traffic, apart from certain access roads and necessary deliveries. Most parking is planned underground, and a green route called the Westweg is intended to connect the new centre with the old town.

The city council hopes to make substantial progress over the next 10 to 15 years. A 25-year planning horizon was already envisaged by the canton in 2017.