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| Andermatt expansion plan - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps AG |
Competing with glitzy St Moritz
and Zermatt, Egyptian-born
billionaire developer, Samih Sawiris hatched a daring plan to transform
humble Andermatt into a year-round resort.
After a helicopter tour of the
central Swiss mountainous area in 2005, he mapped out ski hill improvements as
well as a blueprint for 25 topnotch chalets, six hotels, an indoor pool, an 18-hole golf course, and a
chain of 490 condominiums across 42 buildings.
With a dwindling population of
around 1,400, the former army town had been struggling economically, with many
younger residents migrating elsewhere for job opportunities. Swiss Tourism
figures recorded around 60,600 overnight hotel stays for 2012 whereas rival resort, St Moritz
clocked up 692,000 and Zermatt
almost 1.3 million.
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| Gemmstock Mountain, Andermatt - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps |
Sawiris’s global
real-estate company, Orascom Development
Holding AG kick started the $2 billion gentrification project by purchasing
around 345 acres of developable
land, on which his Swiss company, Andermatt
Swiss Alps AG, is now realizing the project. Already
popular with off-piste skiers, the pretty village was surrounded by a varied
and challenging ski area on the 2,961-metre Gemsstock Mountain.
While these predominantly Dutch, Scandinavian and local expert skiers were
content to hike to fresh snow, much of the new ski infrastructure
development would focus on improving the inbounds ski area, opening up the
appeal to every level of skier and snowboarder. “The SkiArena
Andermatt-Sedrun project will see six new lifts linking Andermatt with
the high plateau at Oberalp and the Sedrun ski area by the 2017/18 season,
creating the largest ski area in central Switzerland,” said Will Hide in an
article for The Guardian Travel in
November 2014.
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| Andermatt's Glacier Express - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps |
Ecosign was responsible for the ski hill
structure plan with stakeholders, Andermatt Gotthard Sportbahnen,
the Sedrun Bergbahnen, the Matterhorn‐Gotthard‐Bahn and Andermatt Swiss Alps all working closely together. Plans included construction of a gondola from Andermatt to Nätschen and Guetsch; a six-seater chairlift from
Oberalp to Calmut; an improved
connection between Nätschen and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn; a six-seater
chairlift on the Gurschen; the covering of the valley descent from Gurschen to
Andermatt with artificial snow; plus the continuous connection of the Ursern Valley with
Sedrun through mountain infrastructure. In addition, there would be extensive snowmaking
installations as well as new resort restaurants. Ground breaking for this - the
largest Swiss ski resort development at the time - was scheduled for summer
2015 with the first two chairlifts (Oberalp Calmut and Gurschen) opening for
the 2015/16 ski season.
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| Andermatt - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps |
In any resort development,
community collaboration is key and this is where Sawiris
excelled. At a town gathering, he got locals on board by presenting (in fluent
German) his plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the area, with sketches and also
pamphlets about his successful regeneration of a Red Sea desert resort at El Gouna. He worked with local farmers and
town-dwellers in decision-making forums, listening to and adopting some of
their ideas for traffic re-routing, building heights, land use and financial
compensation. The village voted overwhelmingly for the project in March 2007
(96 per cent of Andermatt residents and 88 per cent from
neighboring Hospental). The company also produced a comprehensive FAQ document,
prepared especially for the community and potential investors. It answered
questions ranging from why Sawiris identified the area in the first place, to
environmental concerns, affordable housing, critical mass worries, new ski
infrastructure plans right down to the minutiae of second home furnishings.
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| Andermatt - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps, photo by Karin Muller |
Breaking ground on Sept 26 2009,
the blueprints called for a modern design to blend with Andermatt’s
traditional cobblestone alleys and rustic wooden chalets. Financing for the
development came from pre-sales, Orascom and a $160 million personal investment
by Sawiris, said Marta Falconi in a 2013 article for the Wall Street
Journal. Falconi said it was a “risky venture”. Competition was coming from
other developments around Switzerland including nearby Lake Lucerne. “The developer struggled
1 ½ years ago to keep up the project’s timetable and cash flows, prompting some
investors to swoop in,” said Falconi. “One of them,
Hans-Peter Bauer, a co-founder of the Swiss Finance & Property AG real-estate firm, bought 72 units
for about $135 million.” Bauer, who now sits on the board of Andermatt Swiss Alps, has been
responsible for pitching the resort to overseas investors in Singapore, Hong
Kong and Russia. Unlike most Swiss resorts - which are subject to the Lex
Koller law which drastically limits foreign investment – the Sawiris project in
Andermatt is
exempt and is targeting markets in Switzerland, Germany, England, Italy
and overseas. The FAQ document explains that although the global economic
recession coincided with the timing of the project, Sawiris was confident that
the project would be implemented as planned although over a longer time scale than
originally anticipated.
Alongside ski lift redevelopment, Andermatt Swiss Alps focused on real estate development and – together with local
authorities – planned improvements in water systems, roads and a train station
facelift. No extra retail or restaurant facilities were planned at the initial
stages although future phases would allow this. Most of the resort was designed
to be car-free, facilitated by new underground parking structures.
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| The Chedi Andermatt Hotel - Copywright GHM/photographer Guntli |
One of the major town center
improvements was the five-star, deluxe flagship, The
Chedi Andermatt Hotel launched in time for the
2013-2014 ski season. Offering private ownership as well as overnight stays in 48 rooms, the high-end hotel combines
“traditional region values so uniquely with the vision of a luxury,
state-of-the-art holiday destination”. The design motif chosen was ‘Alpine
Traditional’ with added luxury details such as soapstone fireplaces, oak
parquet flooring, and built-in wine closets. As well as 107 apartments for sale, The Chedi development included 12 penthouses
and two suites. Around
10 per cent of units were pre-sold with only 30 per cent left on the market by
April 2015. “In time for winter season 2014/15 the condominiums of the first
two apartment houses of the new resort were handed over to their owners and put
on the rental market,” said Markus Berger, Head of Communications for Andermatt Swiss Alps.
“Whenever the owners are not using the condos for themselves,
they will be let to vacationers.”
By the following ski season a
total of almost 70 apartments would be available to skiers in the new Andermatt
resort. Three or four further condo buildings as well as a second hotel were
scheduled for completion by 2017, said Berger. “In summer 2016 the brand new
championship standard golf course – 18 holes, par 72 – will see its official
opening after having been played in two pre-opening seasons by hundreds of
enthusiastic golfers,” he added.
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| Tee 13 at Andermatt's Championship Golf Course - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps/photographer Mezzanotte |
By transforming Andermatt into
a highly competitive, all-season destination, Sawiris planned to create a
stable, growing local community. “This project brought new life to this place,”
confirmed Andermatt Mayor, Roger Nager in an article for the Wall
Street Journal in 2013.
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| Andermatt - Courtesy of Andermatt Swiss Alps |
