Zurich: Start of construction for the Franklinturm
The ground-breaking ceremony for the Franklin Tower has taken place at Zurich Oerlikon station. SBB is investing around CHF 96 million in the construction.
The Franklinturm is being built on Hofwiesenstrasse in Zurich Oerlikon; construction is scheduled to take three years. The new building will be almost 80 meters high and comprise 14,800 square meters of office space on 21 floors. Stores, takeaways and restaurants are planned for the first floor, which will cover 200 square meters. A bicycle ramp will also be integrated into the Franklin Tower, connecting Hofwiesenstrasse with the Passage Oerlikon bicycle station.
According to SBB, only two floors of the Franklin Tower have been let so far. There are interested parties for the remaining office space. The retail and restaurant space on the first floor is to be actively marketed from 2021.
According to local press reports, SBB has started construction despite the poor pre-letting, because otherwise the building permit would have expired. According to reports, the ground-breaking ceremony was originally due to take place two years ago.
The Franklin Tower is being built according to a project by Armon Semadeni Architects from Zurich, with Porr Suisse as the total contractor. The new building will be constructed in accordance with the "DGNB/SGNI Platinum" sustainability standard of the Swiss Sustainable Building Council, according to SBB. (ah)
