Eastern Switzerland is certainly the part of the country with the greatest potential for discovery. Development companies have avoided this part of the country for a long time and are gradually discovering its advantages. The growth rates had an inhibiting effect for a long time. But at its core there is a volcano smoldering beneath eastern Switzerland that only needs to be ignited.
Development areas from west to east
In the area of site development, eastern Switzerland offers numerous pearls that can be discovered. A conversion area for the Swiss Army is slumbering right next to the Frauenfeld station area. In the canton of Thurgau, however, there is currently a particular focus on the development area in Wil-West near Münchwilen, where in the future commercial and industrial uses, as well as service functions, will have their home on around 200,000 square meters. The G-Werk Bronschhofen industrial and commercial park is close by for new companies. The Uzwil location also has several pearls to show for. The Birkenhof residential development with a supermarket, fitness studio and daycare center was recently built on the Benninger site. With the CUBIC, an innovation campus was built on the Bühler AG site that deserves international renown. The city of Gossau is setting new accents in Sommerau with the expansion area of Aepli Metallbau AG. A (still) sleeping giant is also slumbering in the St. Gallen-West / Gossau-Ost (ASGO) development area: primarily commercial and industrial uses, but also service functions and housing, are to be developed there. The Lerchenfeld-Areal St. Gallen is the new location of the Innovation Park Eastern Switzerland, location of EMPA and the Business Incubator Startfeld. Business areas for start-ups and the high-tech segment are provided here. The first signs of a revitalization of the freight yard area in St. Gallen are recognizable, due to the overriding plans for traffic development (new feeder A1) the area is not available in the medium term. In return, the «lattich» is a national display object for successful temporary use. There is also an area for logistics and commercial use in the Geissberg / Altenwegen-Ost area in St. Gallen. At the St. Fiden station area, the feasibility of covering both the motorway and the track field is currently being evaluated. In the medium term, a new district with uses for research, education, services and living will be created at this location. For this purpose, the areal Bahnhof Nord lies fallow right next to the main station St. Gallen. After planning a test, the canton has issued a moratorium on further planning steps and wants to reserve the area for its educational institutions. In the Herisau station area, too, various office and residential uses are being developed with direct location on the railway tracks, along with the redesign of the station.
Attractive Lake Constance area, Rheintal technology hub
The entire Lake Constance area is also of interest. Oberthurgau offers great potential for further conversions with Arbon and Saurer Werk II with its existing factory halls, which are currently used by small and medium-sized SMEs from industry, production and services. In the future, an interesting mix of living, living and working spaces is to be created here. Numerous residential developments – for example in the Raduner area in Horn – will offer further attractive housing options with more or less direct access to Lake Constance. In Rorschach, numerous new apartments and commercial uses will be built on the Feldmühle site – right next to the city train station with the best connections from Zurich to Munich. The developments in St.Margrethen are also worth mentioning, where the new construction of the Stadler Rail production plant is clearly causing a pull – commercial and residential construction is attracting in the community. After all, with the Innoparc in Heerbrugg, Eastern Switzerland has a hotspot for the opto-mechanical industry. A compression project is being planned here. Mention should also be made of the station area in Buchs, where there is a legally binding development plan. The competitive situation in the Eastern Switzerland region remains manageable overall – but the urge to develop has awakened.
Settlement desert in Eastern Switzerland with potential
The number of settlements in Eastern Switzerland has collapsed at an above-average rate in recent years. Because so far Eastern Switzerland has not been the first choice for globally successful companies dealing with technologies or knowledge-based corporate functions. There are many reasons. The canton of St. Gallen missed the opportunity to accelerate travel times from the canton's capital to the surrounding centers. The disadvantageous direct taxation of private individuals and companies is also of little help. There was also a lack of development areas, which are now being prepared. The canton of Thurgau, over which the development spills from Zurich via Frauenfeld towards Lake Constance, is a bit better. The two half-cantons of Appenzell Inner- and Outer Rhodes also benefit from the influx of wealthy people from the greater St. Gallen area. But they are hardly relevant for the development of jobs.
Marketing with potential
The lack of success in the relocation business of the cantons of Eastern Switzerland depends on a deliberately chosen gap: Eastern Switzerland lacks powerful marketing structures that are effective abroad. Anyone who wants to score points at the location of the competitions has to literally “stand on the mat” within four to 48 hours and present their advantages. That is why other parts of the country have created powerful, cross-cantonal marketing structures (Greater Areas), which, together with the Swiss national marketing, ensure that their corporate landscape is refreshed year after year. Eastern Switzerland operates an area under the brand «St. GallenBodenseeArea », but this has neither budget nor effect. Direct investments would also be a kind of rejuvenation treatment for Eastern Switzerland. New technologies, talents and international structures accelerate the renewal of an economic structure. And the more modern and meaningful jobs there are, the more talent a location will attract.
Eastern Switzerland is on the way there; hesitantly, but with ever better arguments – and above all potential areas.
