Gewoba has been busy in the last fiscal year

In addition to the construction of 26 new apartments, the Gewoba cooperative for non-profit housing had to deal with a building objection and a rejected bid last year.
 

The Gewoba (Genossenschaft für gemeinnützigen Wohnungsbau / cooperative for non-profit housing) has now been around for 62 years. Looking back on its fiscal year at its general meeting last week, the cooperative stated that it is reviewing several construction and procurement projects in Zug. The focus is on new apartments in the Göbli area, the move-in at the Knopfliweg, and the planned Pi high-rise building. The rejection of the bid for the site on the Aa River and other potential sites for affordable housing were also discussed.

The cooperative held its general meeting last week, with around 400 members and guests in attendance. What particularly characterised the cooperative, which has a total of around 1,700 members, last year?

"A clear highlight for us was the completion of the nine small apartments and studios in the historic buildings on the Knopfliweg, right next to the Zug city wall," says Managing Director Esther Keiser in an interview. All the apartments are now rented, and an autumn festival was held in the large garden last year.

Otherwise, work is currently underway on the Gewoba apartment building in the Göbli area. "26 apartments with space for around 70 people will be created there, and we will begin initial leasing for our members this autumn,” said Esther Keiser. The board will first consider the ideal tenant mix and the allocation criteria.

She wasn't quite so enthusiastic when the topic of the Pi high-rise building came up. While the voters of the city of Zug clearly approved the GIBZ development plan in February 2025, which includes the Pi high-rise in which Gewoba is supposed to build affordable housing, “a private individual has nevertheless taken legal action, and filed an appeal against the GIBZ development plan at the beginning of March 2025,” she reported. The case is now pending before the Zug cantonal government (Regierungsrat), whose response is still pending. “It will probably be years before the bulldozers can move in.”

The Gewoba has been around for 62 years: Managing Director Esther Keiser at the office on the General-Guisan-Strasse in Zug      Photo: Matthias Jurt
Around 400 people attended the general meeting of the Cooperative for Non-Profit Housing at the Casino in Zug.   
Mayor André Wicki (SVP) also spoke at the Gewoba AGM in Zug     Photos: Valentin Luthiger
 

Affordable construction isn't always profitable
Last year, the cooperative also applied for building rights on the site along the Aa River near the northern part of the main depot of the Zugerland Transport Authority (ZVB). "Unfortunately, despite a concept that envisioned significantly more apartments on the site  - a  total of 264 - our project team ultimately didn't succeed, and  we received the rejection at the end of last November," continued Esther Keiser. The Zug Cantonal Pension Fund (Pensionskasse des Kantons Zug) was awarded the contract.

She added: "The Zug Cantonal Pension Fund seems to have made the better offer, and was more convincing in presenting its project - with around 160 apartments -  to the board of directors of the ZVB." For context: the Canton of Zug is the largest shareholder of the ZVB, with a stake of approximately 68%. Zug cantonal councillor Heinz Tännler (Swiss People's Party) is also the vice-president of the board (Verwaltungsrat), the president of the investment committee (Anlagekommission), and the president of the Personnel and Election committee of the Zug Cantonal Pension Fund.

Esther Keiser was pleased that the City of Zug is taking action on housing construction. She mentioned, for example, the city council's purchase of the Theilerplatz site on the L&G grounds at the northern end of the Dammstrasse. "Many affordable apartments will be built here. We are eager to see how the city council plans to develop the area," she continued. Initial participatory workshops for various stakeholders already took place in May 2025, in which Gewoba also participated.

Esther Keiser is aware that building affordable housing is sometimes simply not profitable enough: "Unfortunately, the necessary procedures are often very lengthy, resources are lacking, or perhaps the right strategies are missing." She is curious to see what the second half of 2026 will bring, although she is convinced that "there are still several private and municipal sites and plots of land in Zug that can be developed to benefit affordable housing." She thereby mentioned the Ahornpark, and the municipal properties on the Chamerstrasse, the Ägeristrasse and in Gimenen as examples.