Planning, financing, construction, and operation of the FHNW campus expansion

The Solothurn Cantonal Government has opted for an investor-led solution regarding the expansion of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland campus in Olten: The property will remain the canton’s property and will be leased to HRS under a 100-year building lease; HRS will act as the leaseholder and future landlord and will be responsible for planning, financing, construction, and operation.

This partnership model offers various advantages for the Canton of Solothurn: it avoids the need for the canton to make its own investments in the range of approximately 60 to 70 million Swiss francs, provides stable ground rent of at least 380,000 Swiss francs per year, and preserves the canton’s strategic influence over this key educational hub.

The “Kilometer 0” project envisions a new building of high urban and architectural quality with mixed-use development: in addition to educational spaces for the FHNW, it will include sports infrastructure, approximately 250 apartments, and public-facing amenities such as restaurants, retail, and conference rooms. The total cost is estimated at approximately 220 to 240 million Swiss francs.

The schedule calls for the planning framework to be developed and a quality-assured competitive design process to be conducted starting in mid-2026, followed by land-use planning by the City of Olten. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2030, with the facility set to open in 2034.

HRS is very much looking forward to this exciting project and would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Olten City Council, the governing committee of the four cantons that support the FHNW, and the Solothurn Cantonal Government for their trust.

For more information, please see the press release from the Canton of Solothurn:

Olten: Erweiterung der Fachhochschule dank Investorenlösung - Kanton Solothurn