Unterägeri,11.01.2018

Something must be done about this eyesore

A reader of the Zuger Zeitung has written to the newspaper to complain about a dilapidated building on the approach to the Aegeri Valley which he considers to be an eyesore.

Indeed, anyone looking at cannot fail to notice its neglected appearance in this location at number 91 Zugerstrasse, near the sign indicating Unterageri on the approach to the municipality and at the entrance to what the reader referred to as one of the most beautiful valleys in Switzerland.
 
Fortunately, as Walter Hürlimann of the SAE Immobilien AH property development company confirmed, something is indeed planned to be done to improve the poor state of the building, and in the none-too-distant future, too. “We are in the final stages of planning and, if all goes well, improvements could be made later this year,” he said, as he announced that it was planned to convert the building into three affordable flats. What is currently delaying matters is an objection raised on the part of the WWF utility company regarding alterations to an adjacent power facility.
 
What is also of note is that the building in question is included on a list of those which are of national historic significance, meaning that the façade may not be altered in any way, though the main entrance is being moved away from the street side and soundproof windows are to be installed. Hürlimann further explained that the building was to be gutted and slightly extended towards the nearby River Lorze, too, creating space for gardens and somewhere for its new occupants to sit.
 
Like the complainant reader, the mayor of Unterägeri, Josef Ribery, also feels the building is a bit of an eyesore. It is actually being used to house asylum-seekers at present.

Locals who have been away over Christmas may have noticed a change in this area on their return, a footbridge over the main road having gone. This is as a result of a crane on the back of a lorry crashing into it three days before Christmas. Fortunately, the house at number 91 was not affected.