{"id":161253,"date":"2026-07-14T10:47:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immo-invest.ch\/wie-der-bund-am-eigenen-mietvertrag-scheiterte\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:37:20","slug":"wie-der-bund-am-eigenen-mietvertrag-scheiterte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immo-invest.ch\/en\/wie-der-bund-am-eigenen-mietvertrag-scheiterte\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Federal Government Failed Because of Its Own Lease Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2016, the federal government converted a vacant warehouse at the harbor into modern offices. The investment totaled 8.8 million francs, plus 150,000 francs for furniture. The consul general at the time hailed the renovation<\/span> as a symbol of a modern, innovative Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rented, Never Owned
<\/strong>The catch was in the fine print. The building never belonged to the federal government, but rather to the Port of San Francisco, a public port authority. In addition to the initial investment, rent was paid over the years, most recently amounting to 1.5 million Swiss francs per year. In total, the federal government has spent over 20 million Swiss francs on the renovation<\/span> and rent since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counting Your Chickens Before They’re Hatched
<\/strong>When contract negotiations were due, the port authority demanded an increase to 2 million Swiss francs annually. Even the federal government found that too expensive. A clause regarding reimbursement of the renovation<\/span> costs had never been negotiated when the lease was signed. The outcome is bitter. The 8.8 million Swiss francs are lost for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco is booming, while Switzerland is pulling out
<\/strong>Of all times, the office market in San Francisco is currently experiencing a boom. AI companies are flooding into the city center, and a record amount of space has been newly leased since 2024. Switzerland is no longer benefiting from this upswing. The new location on Vallejo Street is just a few minutes’ walk from the old pier, but the annual rent is a hefty 900,000 francs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal Government Defends the Millions
<\/strong>Despite the loss, the federal administration is standing by the investment. According to the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics, the premises had significantly shaped Switzerland’s image<\/span> in this location. No new tenant has been found for the old space yet; the Swiss flags are still hanging on the walls in the listings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A red-and-white flag, a view of the harbor, direct access to the water. For years, the \u201cSwiss House\u201d at Pier 17 in San Francisco served as Switzerland\u2019s calling card in Silicon Valley. Now it\u2019s over. The federal government had to vacate the site and is leaving behind nearly nine million francs without receiving a single rappen in return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56005,55978,55993,55969],"tags":[14008,60514,12525,12526,60515,17427,12528,60516,60517],"class_list":["post-161253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-location-promotion","category-office-commercial","category-transactions-deals","tag-bund-en","tag-hafengesellschaft","tag-immoinvest-en","tag-immonews-en","tag-mietkosten","tag-mietvertrag-en","tag-news-en","tag-san-francisco","tag-swiss-house","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":{"bild_mit_ki_erstellt_worden":["Ja"],"lead":"A red-and-white flag, a view of the harbor, direct access to the water. For years, the \u201cSwiss House\u201d at Pier 17 in San Francisco served as Switzerland\u2019s calling card in Silicon Valley. Now it\u2019s over. The federal government had to vacate the site and is leaving behind nearly nine million francs without receiving a single rappen in return.","autor":"","ort":"","bildunterschrift":"","bild_im_grid":false,"gallerie":"","newsim":"3329"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t