Rosental, south of the Badischer Bahnhof, is Basel’s first industrial quarter, according to Immobilien Basel-Stadt.
It was here in 1858 that Johann Rudolf Geigy built his dyewood factory. Four years after the 1996 merger between Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz to form Novartis, the agrochemicals spinoff Syngenta named Rosental its headquarters.
Although Syngenta sold the majority of the areal in 2007 to a private investor headquartered in Gibraltar, the company retained its Rosental head office with 1,200 employees.
In 2016, the canton of Basel acquired the 120,000-square metre areal, which has the provision to extend a further 80,000 square metres to accommodate new builds.
Now, the local government has planned the further course of action for the areal, announced a statement. The aim is to designate Rosental for high value-added sectors and services, including explicitly headquarters, high-value service providers and research facilities.
Set to open in stages, the areal will also have residential uses and will allow for services.
The planning office is currently developing an urban development model, with a first development plan scheduled for publication in the summer.
