Zug’s property purchases: A new strategy aims to finally bring clarity

The city of Zug’s property portfolio comprises 226 properties. Decisions about what to buy are largely guided by a document dating from 2012. The city council believes it needs updating — and acknowledges its own shortcomings.

When city councillor Urs Raschle stood in the garden of Villa Unterer Frauenstein two years ago, he realised that the decision to buy the property could not be his. If anyone was to decide, it would have to be the voters.

At the time, the Centre Party politician could not have known that this would actually happen. After the city parliament voted on 24 February against buying the villa, a popular initiative gathered the necessary support within three weeks. On 29 November, voters will therefore decide whether the city should purchase the property for CHF 44 million.

Numerous letters to the editor and discussions around pub tables show how sharply opinions differ. One argument against the purchase comes up particularly often: the lack of a plan for how the property would be used.

The passionate debate over Unterer Frauenstein also illustrates a more fundamental question: what rules should govern the city of Zug’s property purchases? So far, there is no clear answer. The city council now intends to revise its 14-year-old property strategy.

The impetus came from a motion submitted by the FDP parliamentary group in September 2025, before the broader political debate about the villa. It states that the current strategy “focuses primarily on managing existing properties” and provides “no clear guidelines for future acquisitions”.

The motion also calls for long-term maintenance and other ongoing costs to be considered. It asks whether the city should develop and build on acquired land itself, or whether these tasks would be better entrusted to housing cooperatives and other suitable partners.

The new strategy comes too late for Villa Unterer Frauenstein.  Photo: Mathias Blattmann (Zug, 10 July 2026)

Attractive opportunities slipped away

Asked about the issue, finance chief Raschle acknowledges that progress has been insufficient. Although the property strategy was adopted before he took office and he inherited responsibility for it, that was already four years ago. “Too little has happened since then.”

The city council agrees with the motion’s authors. In its seven-page response, it writes that property purchases have so far been “predominantly driven by opportunities” rather than by strategy.

According to Raschle, the lack of clear guidelines has led some private owners to withdraw their offers. The back-and-forth between political bodies took too long before a decision was reached on whether to buy. As a result, several attractive opportunities slipped away.

The city still does not intend to sell land

The council’s response states that binding criteria should establish when a purchase makes sense strategically, financially, operationally and in terms of urban planning. Criteria should also govern potential sales, although the city’s general policy remains to retain its land.

Future purchases should be assessed on more than their price and immediate use. Operating, maintenance, renovation and depreciation costs should carry greater weight in the overall strategy.

There is currently no comprehensive overview of the medium- and long-term maintenance and investment needs of the entire portfolio. The council intends to address this and is also considering software for property and portfolio management.

It also wants clearer decisions about which sites the city should develop and retain itself, and which should be made available to cooperatives or other organisations through building rights agreements.

A shift in thinking within the Centre Party

For Raschle, this raises another fundamental question: is buying property a responsibility of government at all? From a liberal perspective — which he generally shares as a Centre Party councillor — the answer would be a clear no. Yet housing pressure in Zug has become so intense that many people in the political centre are reconsidering their position.

The finance department is already working on the new strategy with an external provider. Raschle identifies it as Vistonia AG, which has offices in Bern and Fribourg. The city deliberately chose a company less active in the Zug and Zurich area.

“This outside perspective is very valuable and brings fresh ideas,” he says. He also describes the property developer’s approach as “very innovative and scientific”. Zug is paying Vistonia CHF 90,000 for the assignment.

For Unterer Frauenstein, however, the new property strategy will come too late. Voters will decide on the purchase in around two months, long before the new guidelines are in place.