Bellinzona postpones the opening of the new Pretorium

The refurbishment and extension of the Pretorium in Bellinzona are taking longer than planned. Instead of autumn 2026, the building – which will house judicial and police services – is now due to be handed over in spring 2027. The canton attributes the delay to appeals lodged during the tendering process, whilst at the same time adhering to the budget and heritage protection requirements.

The deadline has been pushed back by a few months, although work is continuing on the building site. The Canton of Ticino attributes the delayed handover to appeals lodged during the tendering process. Although these appeals were dismissed, according to the canton, they delayed the implementation of the project on Viale Stefano Franscini.

The case is particularly relevant to the property and construction sector because it brings together renovation, extension and heritage protection within an ongoing major public project. The Pretorium is a municipally protected cultural asset. The representative building structures and the façade facing Viale Stefano Franscini will be preserved, whilst additional space for judicial and police services will be created inside and at the rear of the building.

50 million Swiss francs within the approved budget
The investment amounts to around 50 million Swiss francs. When the project was first presented, the canton spoke of a cantonal construction loan of 43.42 million Swiss francs, plus an additional 3 million Swiss francs from the federal government to cover special requirements. As things stand, the costs are expected to remain within the approved budget. This is a key consideration for public building authorities, as delays in refurbishment projects often have a rapid impact on the budget.

The project stems from the reorganisation of judicial facilities in Ticino. Following the refurbishment, the site adjacent to the Federal Criminal Court is set to house, amongst other things, premises for the independent Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court, the Civil Magistrates’ Court of the District of Bellinzona and units of the cantonal police. Earlier cantonal documents specified a total floor area of 3,648 square metres for the entire project, divided between the Federal Criminal Court, the police and the civil justice system.

Contract awards slowed down the process
This case illustrates particularly clearly how even rejected appeals can cause delays. Alongside the legal delays, the procurement process has continued in recent times. As recently as June 2025, the relevant cantonal authority published a call for tenders for joinery work on the external enclosures of the converted Pretorium. This suggests that the project continued to be contracted out and carried out in phases, even at a late stage of construction.

In the vicinity of the building site, the disruption to the neighbourhood remained an issue. Specific concerns cited include noise, vibrations, dust and the strain placed on Via Giovanni Nizzola by heavy vehicles. In consultation with the City of Bellinzona, resurfacing of the road is planned for the section affected by the construction work. This means that the project’s impact does not end at the building’s perimeter, but also extends into the adjacent public space.

Next step in spring 2027
With handover now expected in spring 2027, the operational consolidation of the relevant judicial and police services will also be postponed. For the Bellinzona site, however, the project remains a key administrative initiative, as it preserves a historic building whilst simultaneously creating new spaces for security and justice-related uses within a sensitive urban context.