At the beginning of 2024, the Impact Hub startup network will move to the Limmathaus. The club operators still want to continue with a new concept. wishful thinking?
In the future, the Limmathaus will be operated by the Impact Hub startup network. But the club X-Tra, which is rented today, wants to stay.
Reality has to stay outside for an hour. When the operators of the Zurich club X-Tra presented their big plans for the future on Tuesday morning, they behaved as if the Limmathaus would continue to operate for the next few years.
The club is to become the “Limmathaus der Musik”, a “lighthouse project” for the music industry is planned, with various concert stages, training and rehearsal rooms, events, a restaurant, music bar and “co-living” in the former hotel area. A “talent factory” is to be created, a diverse cultural venue that will enrich the quarter. According to the announcement, the start will take place as early as next year.
The reality is: the lease for the club expires at the end of 2023. The Limmathaus Foundation will rent the property to the Impact Hub start-up network at the beginning of 2024. It wants to create jobs for young companies and creative people in the Limmathaus, organize concerts and parties and open the catering trade. There is nothing wrong with the plans, as the foundation explained on Friday.
The Impact Hub and the Limmathaus Foundation signed a corresponding declaration of intent back in 2020. So the plans have been known for a long time.
Nevertheless, the operators of the X-Tra feel treated unfairly. There is talk of a “termination in advance” on Tuesday. About the fact that the Limmathaus Foundation eludes a “democratic process”, as Jürg Burkhardt, the manager of the club, puts it.
What is it?
Politics can no longer have a say
The democratic process that Burkhardt is addressing was set in motion because the Limmathaus Foundation originally assumed that it would not be able to handle the CHF 24 million renovation on its own. The foundation applied for funding from the city of Zurich. This agreed – with the condition that the city determines five of nine foundation councils.
And politics got involved: a non-partisan postulate was submitted to the city parliament with the demand that the city must have two versions drawn up for the future of the Limmathaus. One with the Impact Hub as the operator, one with the X-Tra.
The surprising turning point came last Friday. The foundation announced that it intends to finance the renovation itself. You have received positive signals from banks and private supporters. At the same time, the decision means that the city and politics no longer have any influence on the choice of tenants. The Impact Hub can definitely move into the Limmathaus. This is good news for its co-founder Christoph Birkholz, because the Impact Hub has to leave two of its current locations in the city.
While the relief at Birkholz is great, the club operators are now directing their anger against the foundation. The X-Tra boss Burkhardt said at the media conference that there was no opportunity to present the plans for the Limmathaus in time. «In 2019 we were told that we should present a business plan and not a vision. We did that.” Bruno Hohl, President of the Limmathaus Foundation, told the NZZ that the foundation made its decision after a selection process lasting several months. He could not be reached for an updated comment.
Temporary closure “unnecessary”
Although the foundation made a clear decision in favor of the Impact Hub – the choice was unanimous – the X-Tra club is not thinking of leaving the Limmathaus. On the contrary, the operators have drawn up a financing concept and commissioned a feasibility study from an architect’s office.
The architect Jürg Graser comes to the conclusion that the Limmathaus does not need to be extensively renovated and that maintenance work can be carried out during ongoing operation. According to Graser, a temporary closure, as envisaged by the foundation, is not necessary. “The house is generally in good condition.” However, the costs for a “gentle renovation” amount to around 13 million Swiss francs. The public sector should not be burdened, the X-Tra wants to raise the amount itself, among other things with crowdfunding. But there is still a funding gap of almost 6 million Swiss francs.
The operators of the X-Tra receive support from the Bar and Club Committee. Spokesman Alexander Bücheli told the media that the club is essential for the city’s nightlife, especially as the number of nightspots in Zurich is decreasing. The idea of a “Limmat House of Music” is too good to let die.
In fact, X-Tra managing director Jürg Burkhardt does not want to give up. He says the concept that has been developed has been well received in the music industry. “And we are already receiving booking requests for 2024.”
The people behind the X-Tra don’t have a plan B. In theory, the concept would also work in other spaces, says Burkhardt. But in Zurich, properties for clubs are scarce. He therefore hopes that the rental agreement in the Limmathaus will be extended again.
However, it does not look like that: The relocation of the Impact Hub at the beginning of 2024, as the foundation has announced, is a done deal.