X-tra Club in Zürich Secures Lease Extension Until 2027, Impact Hub Facing New Challenges

Zürich

Surprise in the rental dispute: The X-tra can stay in the Limmathaus until mid-2027

The club operator is happy. The new tenant Impact Hub Zurich, on the other hand, is now facing new problems.

“The party continues”: The X-tra has been given a reprieve of three and a half years by its landlady.

Build: Valentine Hehli

The X-tra is saved – for now. The club operator and the owner, the Limmathaus Foundation, reached a settlement before the arbitration authority in mid-December, as the two parties announced on Wednesday. The result: The lease is extended and the club is allowed to stay in the Limmathaus until June 30, 2027. Since the owner did not originally extend the lease, the X-tra would have had to move out in 2024. However, because the operators had gone before the arbitration authority, the decision was postponed.

The continuation of the events in the Limmathaus until 2027 is not only positive news for Zurich’s music and party scene, but also for the around 150 committed employees of X-tra Production AG, according to a statement from X-tra. “The party continues and we look forward to creating unforgettable moments together with our loyal audience,” CEO Jürg Burkhardt is quoted as saying. The agreement with the owner underlines the shared commitment of both parties to strive for solutions that are viable on all sides.

The resistance of Jürg Bürkhardt, CEO of X-tra Production AG, paid off.

Build: Valentine Hehli

«The decision to establish a long-term collaboration with the future tenant Impact Hub Zurich was made in the summer of 2020. “The board of trustees also sees itself as having a responsibility to make the future of its 25-year-old tenant, X-tra Production AG, easier in a new location,” writes Bruno Hohl, President of the Limmathaus AG Foundation, which owns the building a message. The settlement gives all parties planning and legal certainty.

The club operator now wants to use the time until 2027 to look for a replacement location. Corresponding discussions are in a crucial phase, writes X-tra Production AG. We will be informed in due course. However, the X-tra would like to maintain operations in the Limmathaus until the move.

The Limmathaus Foundation also states that a further rent extension beyond June 31, 2027 is excluded according to the settlement.

Impact Hub is also hoping for a rent extension

One person’s joy is another’s sorrow. The next tenant of the X-tra, the Impact Hub Zurich, actually expected to be able to move into the Limmathaus as an interim user this year and definitely as a tenant from mid-2027. Nothing will come of it now. The start of the lease was postponed from summer 2027 to May 2029 due to the rent extension.

“The rent extension presents us with major challenges,” says Christoph Birkholz, co-founder of Impact Hub Zurich, when asked. According to Birkholz, the original move-in date would have ensured a transition from the old locations to the new ones: According to the current lease agreements, the Impact Hub must vacate its two locations on Sihlquai and at the Selnau substation by the end of 2026 and mid-2027, respectively. However, the planned renovation of the Limmathaus is not expected to be completed until 2029.

“We are in the same situation as the X-tra was,” says Christoph Birkholz, co-founder of the Impact Hub Zurich.

Image: zvg

“We now hope even more that we will be able to stay at the existing locations until the move,” says Birkholz. This is also why he and IG Selnau are committed to ensuring that the substation is preserved as a cultural site – and that the planned energy center is placed underground instead of in the power plant.

«We are in the same situation as the X-tra was. “In this respect, we understand your concerns,” says Birkholz. He criticizes the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult for cultural venues and small businesses in the city of Zurich to remain in central locations. “I would like the city of Zurich to take more responsibility for its properties.” After all, hundreds of jobs and small businesses depend on the Impact Hub.

The renovation is delayed

The board of trustees of the Limmathaus Foundation, in which the city of Zurich also has a seat, is aware that the Impact Hub is facing major challenges in view of the rent extension and the expiring lease agreements. “We thank you for the cooperative work, hope for a good solution for the Impact Hub by 2029 and want to support it in this,” President Bruno Hohl is quoted in the statement. What this support should look like in concrete terms remains unclear.

Instead of 2025 at the earliest, the renovation of the listed building from 1931 is now scheduled to begin in mid-2027 and last until spring 2029. The costs amount to around 24 million francs and are borne by private individuals. The Impact Hub is planning, among other things, co-working spaces, a catering offer and cultural and political events in the Limmathaus.

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2024-01-31 13:39:34
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