Cantonal Council ZG Canton to buy "Casa Rossa

The canton of Zug is to buy the over 100-year-old "Casa Rossa" from the Hürlimann-Wyss Foundation for CHF 9.83 million. All parliamentary groups in the cantonal council spoke out in favor of the purchase of the 1433 square meter property on Artherstrasse on Thursday.

No one spoke out against the purchase during Thursday's debate. The vote will only take place after the second reading of the bill. The government council is of the opinion that the building is well suited for representative, social and cultural purposes and therefore requested that the cantonal council purchase it.

The "Casa Rossa" was built for the pharmacist Ernst Wyss in the style of a Renaissance villa, as found in Tuscany. The building is a listed building. The foundation wants to sell it in order to secure its liquidity.

Beat Iten (SP) described the "Casa Rossa" as a "pearl" on behalf of the preliminary committee. In contrast to other cantons, Zug does not yet have a comparable property for representative purposes. Regarding the price, Iten said that the foundation could have achieved a higher price if it had sold the property to a private individual.

"Buying villas is not the first task of the state", said Reto Vogel (GLP). However, the money is available in Zug, so an investment in a real asset should be possible. FDP spokesperson Christophe Lanz expressed a similar view. He also described the price as "reasonable".

Patrick Röösli (center) spoke of a "unique and rare opportunity". A "tangible added value" would be created for the population. Philip C. Brunner (SVP) said it would be a "historic mistake" if the canton did not buy the "Casa Rossa".

The "Casa Rossa" is located directly next to the old cantonal hospital, which is also being put to a new use. The ALG therefore sees opportunities for synergies, as parliamentary group spokesperson Hanni Schriber said.