Why Swiss Prime Site’s Jelmoli building is turning into a multi-use city magnet

Reviewed: ad hoc news Software & Services desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-18, 05:29. Details in the imprint.

With the Jelmoli building, Swiss Prime Site is turning a traditional Zürich department store into a layered city machine of offices, hospitality and urban experiences that reaches from basement to rooftop. The concrete icon on Bahnhofstrasse is being rewired for a very different future.

What Swiss Prime Site is changing

Walk around the Jelmoli building today and you still see shop windows, but the clock is ticking for the classic department-store concept. Swiss Prime Site decided in 2023 to phase out the Jelmoli retail operation by 2027 to unlock a full repositioning of the asset.

The company’s stated goal is to convert the centrally located block near Zürich’s Bahnhofstrasse into a modern mixed-use property with flexible office, hospitality and retail components that promise higher, more stable cash flows over time.

The new mixed-use concept

In practical terms, that means the former single-tenant department store is being sliced vertically and horizontally. Future leases are planned for offices, gastronomy, possibly hotel and curated retail, creating different address points and entrances along the block instead of one big store.

Investors hear the dry words "risk diversification" and "yield optimization". Visitors will feel it more directly through new lobbies, quieter office floors above the bustle, and food or leisure offerings that stay open when classic department stores would already be dark.

Location remains the ace

The hardware of the project is hard to beat: the Jelmoli building sits just off Zürich’s Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most expensive shopping streets in Europe, with heavy footfall, strong purchasing power and direct access to public transport at Zürich main station.

That location is the reason Swiss Prime Site is willing to invest into a complex transformation instead of taking a quick exit. The group underlines in its communication that Jelmoli remains a flagship property in its portfolio despite the retail closure.

What will disappear, what stays

The familiar Jelmoli department-store brand will vanish from the façade over the next few years, along with the large-scale, multi-floor retail floors that defined the building for decades.

However, Swiss Prime Site intends to keep selected anchor uses such as food, gastronomy or services on the lower floors, just under different concepts and tenants. Upper floors are earmarked increasingly for offices and potentially hospitality, catering to Zürich’s business clientele.

Why this is a demanding project

On paper, converting a single-tenant department store into a multi-tenant mix sounds straightforward. In reality, the Jelmoli building is structurally complex, and Swiss Prime Site itself has called the asset demanding, both in terms of planning and execution.

Fire safety, vertical circulation, daylight for deep floorplates and noise control between gastronomy and offices all need to be rethought. At the same time, the property must continue to operate during the transition, so the transformation will be staggered over several years.

How it fits into the SPS portfolio

Strategically, Jelmoli is a textbook example of how Swiss Prime Site tries to enhance value in top locations rather than expanding sheer volume. The group focuses on prime Swiss cities, with a significant exposure to Zürich, and prefers complex, high-barrier assets.

The Jelmoli repositioning should, once stabilized, reduce retail risk and lift the share of office and service-based income in the property’s rent roll, better aligning it with the company’s broader portfolio and long-term climate and usage goals.

What tenants and visitors can expect

Future office tenants can expect large, reconfigurable floorplates in a city-center building that already comes with underground parking, logistics access and direct connection to public transport. For them, the transformation is a chance to secure a rare address.

For visitors, the new Jelmoli building will likely feel more segmented. Instead of wandering through a unified department store, they will move through distinct, branded worlds - from a café on one corner to a separate hotel lobby or office entrance on another.

Timing and uncertainty

Swiss Prime Site has laid out a multi-year timeline, with the Jelmoli retail business scheduled to end by 2027 and redevelopment stages continuing beyond that date. This staged approach spreads costs and lets the company react to tenant demand as it emerges.

At the same time, it introduces uncertainty: the exact final mix of uses will depend on leasing progress, market conditions and planning approvals in tightly regulated central Zürich. For investors, this is both a risk factor and an upside option.

Context and stock reference

For Swiss Prime Site, the Jelmoli building is one of several large-scale urban repositioning projects aimed at concentrating the portfolio on flexible, sustainable prime properties in Swiss economic centers. Shares of Swiss Prime Site AG (ISIN CH0011029946) trade on SIX Swiss Exchange in Swiss francs.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.

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