The Zurich-based Angst+Pfister Group, a leading developer, manufacturer and global supplier of high-performance components and engineering solutions, has acquired a significant stake in IPZ Property AG. This company is responsible for the planning, development and realisation of the Zurich Innovation Park on the former military airfield in Dübendorf on behalf of the Zurich Innovation Park Foundation (IPZ Foundation).
“With the new shareholder, we have succeeded in taking a next, strategically very significant step towards strengthening the generation project. For the first time, a well-known industrial partner from Switzerland is participating in the Zurich Innovation Park as an investor,” says Peter Bodmer, President of the IPZ Foundation. A decisive role was played by the fact that over the last two years, thanks to the extremely good cooperation between the Canton of Zurich, the federal government as landowner, the neighbouring communities, the IPZ Foundation, the real estate service provider HRS and other partners, it was possible to set the right legal and political course.
Switzerland’s most exciting development project
“For us, the Zurich Innovation Park is by far the most exciting development project in Switzerland,” says Christof Domeisen, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors of Angst+Pfister, explaining the group’s investment decision. “As a globally active company with a history going back over 100 years, we are convinced that the close integration of research and development in one place creates an ideal platform to be successful in the future. The Zurich Innovation Park on the site of the Dübendorf airfield fulfils precisely these conditions. This design space makes it possible to successfully transfer knowledge from research into solutions and products. The location is ideally suited for a unique innovative environment and is extremely attractive by international standards.”
Owner and CEO Martin Kull is confident that HRS, which has been the main investor in the planning and construction of the development, will succeed in bringing other major investors on board over the next few years. “Our goal has always been to make the development of the Innovation Park economically viable within the framework of the very constructive public-private partnership with the Canton of Zurich. The developments of the last two years prove us right that we are on track with this.”
Political process successfully completed
Now that the commitment credit approved by a large majority in the Zurich Cantonal Parliament at the end of November 2022 has become legally binding with the expiry of the referendum deadline on 7 February 2023, the political process has been successfully completed. For Andrea Claudio Thöny, as head of IPZ Property AG responsible for the overall development on the site, this paves the way for the prompt implementation of the next phase. “Now that the Cantonal Council’s decision has become legally binding, the Zurich Cantonal Government together with IPZ Property AG can conclude the corresponding building lease contracts. The plan is that ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich will soon be able to take over the existing aircraft hangars. In addition, an architectural competition is currently underway for the new buildings of the first major development phase, in which both internationally renowned architectural firms and young up-and-coming talents from Switzerland are participating. And it is very pleasing that more and more companies are interested in settling on the IPZ. Since the political decisions have been made, things are now moving ahead quickly.”
Settlement of numerous companies and institutions in the next few years
Already involved in the project as partners are ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich as well as the Cantonal Bank of Zurich. They have set up research and development laboratories and a start-up hub in the former aircraft hangars and buildings on the periphery of the site, and are thus playing a decisive role in the take-off and rapid development of the Generation Project.
For industry, the proximity to world-leading universities is a key element in the IPZ’s attractiveness. This dovetailing of university research and industrial development at a location with excellent national and international transport connections and which, thanks to its dimensions, also allows space-intensive tests on the ground and in the air, is rare in a global comparison. Dozens of other companies and institutions are also rented in the IPZ, but not yet housed on the site itself, as the appropriate usable space must first be created for their settlement.
