Chiasso gets a private 30-million-franc innovation hub

On Wednesday, Chiasso inaugurated the Lifestyle Innovation Hub, a new centre designed to connect the academic world with businesses. The project is entirely privately funded and involves an investment of 30 million francs. The hub will be based in the former Credit Suisse building, on Piazza Indipendenza.

The aim is to attract talent and investment and to help revitalise the town, after the banking sector's withdrawal and several other departures. For the Mendrisiotto region, this is an attempt to bring new economic activity to a place the financial sector has left. The building is already half occupied, and the renovation of the spaces is planned for early 2027.

The project's co-founders include Dagorà, lastminute.com and Alpha Square Invest. Among the main promoters is also the Lugano-based A++ Group, active internationally in design, architecture and planning.

A bet on the border location

Co-owner Paolo Colombo explained to SEIDISERA why the choice fell on Chiasso. “Sei al centro di una città a 500 metri dall'Italia, a 50 metri da una stazione dove sei connesso con tutta la Svizzera ma anche tutto il mondo, considerando che hai Malpensa a mezz'ora” (You are at the centre of a town 500 metres from Italy, 50 metres from a station that connects you to all of Switzerland and the whole world, given that Malpensa airport is half an hour away), he said.

Traffic also weighed on the decision. Colombo noted that the morning and evening queues heading to Lugano had led him to think that Chiasso is not an abandoned area, or one to overlook for investment. In his view, the border town today offers “una delle condizioni più interessanti” (one of the most interesting situations) in Ticino.

The project involves no public spending: the 30 million francs come entirely from private capital. For Chiasso, which has lost tax revenue and jobs as the banks withdrew, it remains to be seen whether such an initiative will be enough on its own to offset what has been lost, or whether other measures will be needed to complete the town's economic recovery.