‘Rocket & Tigerli’ construction project: more apartments planned

Cham, 17 October 2025 – With the ‘Rocket’ high-rise and the residential buildings ‘Tigerli’, an architecturally significant ensemble is taking shape in Winterthur’s Lokstadt district. Over the past several months, Cham Swiss Properties has revised the project in close coordination with the City of Winterthur. Instead of a hotel, additional apartments will now be created, 30% of which will be in the affordable segment. Cham Swiss Properties expects the building permit to become legally effective in the course of 2026.

One of the most important projects in Cham Swiss Properties’ development portfolio is the ‘Rocket’ high-rise and the three neighbouring ‘Tigerli’ residential buildings in Winterthur’s new Lokstadt district. The ‘Rocket & Tigerli’ ensemble is also significant for the City of Winterthur: with around 300 rental apartments – 30% of which are affordable – it will help alleviate the housing shortage. In addition, ‘Rocket’ will dominate the Winterthur skyline as a 100-metre-high skyscraper.

Project improvement phase

At the beginning of April 2025, the city of Winterthur granted the building permit for the construction project, subject to some important conditions. These primarily concerned access to the ground-floor spaces and the public use of the top floor. Cham Swiss Properties took the conditions imposed by the authorities as an opportunity to further improve the project. During this interim phase – between the completion of detailed planning and the start of construction – the company has been in constructive dialogue with the relevant authorities of the City of Winterthur.

More affordable apartments instead of a hotel

The most significant change to the project is the decision to abandon the planned hotel use in the high-rise building in favour of around 5,000 m² of additional living space – 30% of which will be in the affordable segment. ‘We are designing the affordable apartments to be suitable for young people in education or for shared apartments,’ says Thomas Aebischer, CEO of Cham Swiss Properties. ‘As a new urban district, Lokstadt will benefit more from permanent residents than from short-stay tourists.’ The decision to forego hotel use also allows Cham Swiss Properties to significantly enhance the ground floor: instead of an almost fully automated hotel check-in, the company now plans publicly accessible retail and gastronomy spaces. The top floor will likewise be upgraded with a panoramic viewing area and an event and hospitality space. ‘A public zone in a residential building poses challenges in terms of privacy and security,’ says Thomas Aebischer. ‘But we are confident that we can implement a good solution so that the entire population can enjoy the view from a height of 100 metres.’

CO2-equivalent alternative to timber construction

As part of the project improvement, Cham Swiss Properties also reviewed the use of materials: ‘Rocket’ was originally planned as a timber hybrid construction, similar to a building that Cham Swiss Properties completed at the beginning of 2025 on its Papieri site in Cham in the canton of Zug. ‘We are very familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of wood and therefore examined carefully whether the material should also be used in Winterthur,’ says Thomas Aebischer. ‘Ultimately, for risk and economic reasons, we opted for a different construction method, which is just as innovative and sustainable thanks to rapid advances in construction and materials technology.’ Today, there are CO2 equivalent alternatives to timber hybrid construction available that offer clear advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, predictability and material availability, especially for high-rise buildings. The sustainability standards for ‘Rocket’ remain unchanged: thanks to optimised statics, efficient use of materials and CO2-reduced concrete, the building will have a particularly low ecological footprint. Certification according to the recognised SNBS Gold standard is therefore still planned.

Completion of the major site development project expected in 2030

Once the city’s conditions have been fulfilled, Cham Swiss Properties will withdraw the appeal it filed for formal reasons. The real estate company expects the building permit to become legally binding in the course of 2026, with construction scheduled to start in mid-2027. The completion of ‘Rocket & Tigerli’ is planned for 2030.

Press release (PDF)

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One of Switzerland's most sustainable real estate portfolios

Cham Swiss Properties AG is a real estate company based in Cham (ZG). It was formed in 2025 through the merger of Ina Invest AG and Cham Group AG. The company focuses on the value-creating development of attractive living and working spaces in central locations with good public transport connections in Switzerland. Its real estate portfolio amounts to around CHF 1.7 billion. Over the coming years, Cham Swiss Properties will build up and expand a high-quality, sustainable and diversified real estate portfolio. Once the current projects are completed, the company’s portfolio size is estimated to increase to around CHF 3 billion and generate annual rental income of over CHF 100 million. The expertise of the approximately 50 employees of Cham Swiss Properties covers the entire value chain of the real estate life cycle. Cham Swiss Properties is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (CHAM, CH0524026959). Further information is available at champroperties.ch.

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