Gmunden Approves Modified Building Rights Contract for Soravia's "Seeviertel" Project on Lake Traunsee

What Soravia is planning on Lake Traunsee

According to Soravia, the project comprises a 4-star-plus hotel under the "Marriott" brand with 110 rooms, restaurants, seminar areas, and a spa area. The complex will be complemented by 90 apartments. In total, the real estate group is investing around 170 million euros in the construction on the site of the former Seebahnhof (Lake Railway Station).

In addition to the apartments, the "Seeviertel" project is to include space for local amenities, offices, and health and leisure offerings. The company speaks of a "Magistrale" (boulevard) as the heart of the project, a public axis that will in future connect the Schiffslände (boat landing) with the park at the Seebahnhof. Along this promenade, spaces for restaurants and retail as well as "freely accessible areas to linger by the water" will be created.

The lakeside promenade will also remain "permanently publicly accessible and will be significantly upgraded as part of the project's implementation," the company stated. As financing partners, Oberbank and other regional investors are on board, who, according to the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, have contributed 30 million euros.

Financing and Timeline

Construction preparations are already underway, with the start of construction planned for early summer 2027. Sales of the apartments will begin in summer 2026. The hotel opening is not expected before 2030. Originally, it was agreed that the hotel would be completed no later than a certain deadline – if exceeded, the contract stipulated a monthly penalty payment of 50,000 euros until the opening, up to a maximum of two million euros. The city is now waiving this penalty.

As early as 15 years ago, a hotel project named "Lacus Felix" was planned at this location, which was also highly controversial and was definitively shelved in 2014. The municipality bought the property back and later granted an 86-year building right to Soravia. The building rights contract also stipulated that at least 75 percent of the constructed residential floor space had to be primary residences.

Political Debate over Primary Residence Quota

The Gmunden Greens had still approved the project in 2021, but only because the primary residence quota was, from their perspective, very positive at 75 percent. In general, the quota in the city is 18 percent and is thus "within range." Deputy Mayor Uli Feichtinger now warned that "another settlement that is only inhabited during vacations" is looming.

The FPÖ pointed out in media reports that the Seeviertel project brings annual municipal revenues of around 500,000 euros and creates jobs, both during the construction phase and later in hotel operations. Every primary residence brings Gmunden revenue year after year and at the same time strengthens the local economy, Feichtinger wrote in a press release; moreover, people with primary residence would "liven up the city year-round."

The project thus stands as an example of a conflict that has been smoldering for years between economic interests and the desire for year-round inhabited settlements in the Salzkammergut. The municipal council's decision to renegotiate the contract with Soravia comes at a time when many municipalities on Lake Traunsee are grappling with similar challenges between tourism, housing, and infrastructure.