Music school rooms become apartments
The Zurich property at Florastrasse 52, formerly used by the Zurich Conservatory of Music, is being renovated and eight apartments are being built. The city council has approved CHF 5.31 million for this, of which CHF 3.51 million is earmarked expenditure.
The City of Zurich has owned the listed residential building at Florastrasse 52 in the Riesbach district since 1957. From 1968, it was used by Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich (MKZ); the apartments became classrooms and offices for the school management. In 2015, voters approved the purchase of the property at Florhofgasse 6 for MKZ, which enabled MKZ to concentrate a large part of its teaching and administrative rooms in a single location. As announced in the referendum newspaper, MKZ was able to give up three rented properties in return, including the one on Florastrasse.
The house is now to be renovated and used for residential purposes again. Committed expenditure of CHF 3.51 million will be incurred for the overall refurbishment; the last refurbishment measures date back to the 1960s. For the conversion, including the loft conversion, the city council has approved a project loan of CHF 1.8 million in addition to the committed expenditure. A total of eight apartments will be built in the property: three 2½-room and three 3-room apartments as well as one 4-room and one 4½-room apartment; there will also be a studio in the basement. The cost-covering net rents are expected to be between CHF 1750 for a 73 m2 2½-room apartment on the mezzanine floor and CHF 2960 for the 147 m2 4½-room apartment on the top floor; the final rents will be set once the construction invoice is available.
The rather high rents for city apartments are not due to a luxurious fit-out. The rents here are also calculated on the basis of the cost rent, but the costs for the renovation and conversion of the listed building with its rather large rooms are higher than for other properties. In addition, energy and fire safety aspects must be taken into account during the renovation, as well as aspects relating to the preservation of listed buildings.
Since MKZ moved out in 2016, the property has been let to Raumbörse. The tenancy is limited until November 2018, as renovation and conversion work can only be carried out while the property is vacant. After the tenants move out, preparatory work will take place in the property for the actual construction work, which is scheduled to begin in early 2019. The apartments are scheduled to be occupied at the end of the same year.
