Baden Puts 20 Apartments on Hold Due to a Late Application for Protection
On the Demuth site in Baden’s Oberstadt district, a housing project by the municipal housing foundation has suddenly been put on hold. The city council has applied to the canton to have the old metalworking shop designated as a protected historic building, thereby blocking a project involving 20 apartments and significant upfront investments after years of planning.
The blockade is affecting a project that carries a double political charge in Baden. It involves affordable housing in the city center and a site that has been earmarked for years as part of inner-city development. According to the housing foundation, financing for the Demuth site had been secured, and concrete project work was already underway.
The timing of the decision adds further fuel to the fire. The suspension was only ordered after objections from neighbors called for the site to be placed under protection, and expert reports commissioned by the city council concluded that the old metalworking shop might be worthy of preservation. This raises not only the issue of planning costs amounting to approximately 750,000 Swiss francs, but also the question of why the preservation issue was not clarified before the years of preliminary investments were made.
Inner-City Densification Hits a Snag
The housing foundation’s project at Oberstadtstrasse 1 calls for 20 apartments. In its 2023 annual report, the foundation describes the project as a nonprofit, car-free residential development in the city center featuring studios and shared spaces. It mentions ground-floor uses such as studio apartments, studios, and workshops or shops, with apartments of various sizes above, extending up to the penthouse level.
This project comes at a time of high construction activity and growing demand for housing in Baden. In its 2026 planning report, the city notes that Baden and Turgi together had 12,767 apartments in 2024, about 760 more than in 2018. At the same time, the city points to rising rents, scarce residential land reserves, and political pressure to create more affordable housing.
Criticism from the Greens as well
The case is politically contentious because the city council is thereby putting the brakes on a project by its own housing foundation. According to the statements available, criticism is coming not only from the FDP and SVP but also from the Baden Greens. Their objection is directed less at the preservation of historic buildings per se than at the weight given to it and the late intervention in an ongoing procedure. They argue that high-quality densification must remain possible, especially in well-connected inner-city areas.
The Decision on Protection Lies with the Canton
The city’s application does not yet equate to legally binding protected status. In Aargau, such a protection application can be submitted to the canton, while the cantonal historic preservation office provides technical guidance to developers, authorities, and planners on projects involving protected sites. For the Demuth site, therefore, more than just the fate of a single metalworking shop is at stake. The case will serve as a test of how reliably Baden can navigate its own residential construction projects through the phases of site development, objections, and preservation interests.