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Whether for singles or expats: For them, small temporary apartments are a new alternative to hotels or Airbnb.
Instead of tax consultants, (neo)singles, expats, young couples and students have been coming and going in the former office building of Ernst & Young in Bern’s Monbijou district. The complex comprises 197 furnished apartments for 400 people.
Legend:
Fully furnished: view of the bedroom in the 40 square meter Citypop apartment in Bern.
SRF/Sonja Mühlemann
It is the latest offshoot of Citypop, an expanding microliving provider based in Zurich. The concept is aimed at residents who are looking for furnished accommodation for a period of between one month and one year. In Bern, the youngest resident is 21 years young, the oldest resident is 70.
Fitness room, communal kitchen and mini-cinema are intended to promote community
Booking and payment runs via app. A 40 square meter duplex apartment, for example, costs 1,400 francs including internet and additional costs, depending on the rental period. A 30 square meter flat rate for three months is currently available for CHF 1,600 per month.
“The price is a bit higher than for normal apartments, but we are much more flexible,” says Denis to the SRF reporter, who recently moved to Bern with his girlfriend from Ticino.
Legend:
The residents are supposed to meet in the communal kitchen of the Citypop apartment block.
SRF/Sonja Mühlemann
Residents can use a fitness room, communal kitchen and even a small cinema. The providers do not just want to market accommodation, but a new form of living, a lifestyle of a motley mix of people.
Manuela, for example, sits in the common room of the Citypop complex. She works at the Colombian Embassy and moved to the Microliving apartment straight from Bogota. Manuela is happy that she doesn’t have to worry about anything – and is not alone. “As an expat, it’s easy to get to know other people here,” says the 31-year-old.
Several micro-apartment complexes are being built in Basel
Offices are being turned into micro-apartments. This is a trend in the real estate market. In Switzerland, Citypop has branches in Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Lugano. More are to come soon – also abroad.
In 2023, the provider Arviv will open a complex with 150 micro-apartments on the Stucki site in Basel, while Citypop will also turn the former Roche offices in the Gundeli near the Basel train station into temporary apartments. Köniz is also building a micro-living house with 77 small apartments in the former Swisscom building.
Pandemic creates office surplus
Apartments instead of offices: this development is progressing. Because while there is a housing shortage in practically all larger Swiss cities, many offices are empty. This is mainly due to the changed working habits due to the pandemic. A third of all office work is done in the home office. “It’s not surprising that one or the other investor is thinking of converting his offices into apartments,” says Robert Weinert from the real estate consulting firm Wüest and Partner to the “Bund”.
Legend:
Offices used to be here: View of the Citypop building on Bern’s Belpstrasse.
SRF/Sonja Mühlemann
“Almost nobody can afford large apartments in the centers anymore, so smaller apartments make sense,” says real estate expert Donato Scognamiglio, professor at the University of Bern. But by no means all micro-apartments are aimed at people with a normal budget: “In Zurich there are micro-apartments where you pay 2,000 francs for 20 square meters,” Scognamiglio continues.