In the heart of Linz

Sparkasse Builds New Campus for 70 Million Euros

This is what the “Campus Urfahr” in Linz is expected to look like. The three buildings in the foreground are new constructions, and the blue tower will house apartments.(Bild: Klinglmüller | HENN | a-stud.io)

Sparkasse Oberösterreich is expanding its location in the Urfahr district of Linz. The new campus will also include apartments. The concept follows a general trend in the banking industry.

Because the Sparkasse Oberösterreich branch on Linz’s Wildbergstraße—which opened in 1979—has become outdated, the bank is modernizing the facility. And it’s doing so on a grand scale: Sparkasse is investing 70 million euros to build the “Urfahr Campus.”

Where parking spaces currently stand, the bank is constructing three new office buildings of varying heights (see image above). The existing blue tower will be converted into apartments, and one plaza on the campus will be open to the public. The bank also places great emphasis on sustainability: the rooftops will be greened, and the redevelopment of the site will result in a total of 20 percent of the property being unsealed.

Neighbors are being informed
CEO Stefanie Huber describes the project as an investment “in the future of our organization and in the Wildbergstraße area.” The area is crucial for the development of the neighborhood, says Mayor Dietmar Prammer (SPÖ): “Several changes will converge here in the coming years. The new campus is an important component of this.”

At Sparkasse OÖ, we always think in terms of generations when it comes to construction projects. As soon as all the architectural details are finalized, we’ll notify residents by mail.

Stefanie Huber, Generaldirektorin Sparkasse OÖ

Banks Are Becoming Part of the Public Space
However, the Sparkasse campus is still some time away: many details remain to be finalized. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2028, with completion planned for 2031. The joint bidder consortium of Klinglmüller / HENN / a-stud.io won the contract for the project.

With the new campus, the regional bank is certainly following a trend: Banks’ new locations are no longer just branches with teller windows—since customers now handle many tasks, such as transfers, online—but are evolving into freely accessible spaces. For example, Raiffeisenlandesbank OÖ is currently building a new headquarters on Goethestraße in Linz—complete with a public café. And the Sparkasse’s main building on the Promenade in Linz, which reopened this summer, now also features a café open to the public.