New small SME area in Ragheno park Mechelen
by Olivier Beherman
Fancy managing a business in a modern SME park in the new heart of an old city?
Soon you will be able to do just that in the city of Mechelen, where the Beherman Group, Vulsteke Bedrijfsgebouwen and real estate agent DGI joined forces for the development of an SME area in the Ragheno park.
The entire Ragheno area covers almost 80 hectares, consisting partly of former industrial sites, in the near vicinity of the railway station of Mechelen. The city of Mechelen hopes to be able to transform this area in the near future into a new, modern city district where people will be happy to work, live and relax. The city of Mechelen selected design agencies KCAP Architects & Planners, Arcadis and OKRA as a team to prepare the masterplan for the Ragheno site.
The Beherman Group owns 11 hectares of land in the planning area through its 100% subsidiary Park Ragheno NV. On the edge of the development area, the group also has a cluster of buildings which are used for storage, business activities and as offices. Next to the existing buildings lies a large plot of undeveloped land.
This undeveloped site shall be turned into a new centre for small and medium-sized companies within a time frame of one year. The planning preparations have been made and completed.
Architect firm Archi.des NV found that the site could harbour fourteen modern units for small or medium-sized companies. The units vary in size from 363 to 456 square metres, are all 7 metres high and can be built, if required, with a top-floor area of 52 to 101 square metres. The different unit sizes were selected, because there is a commercial interest in them.
The developer and contractor Vulsteke from Kortemark and architect Archi.des deliberately chose multiple building variants. These will give the business park extra flair and a luxurious appearance. There is, for example, one variant with a separate entrance and gate, identical windows on both the first and second floor and a skylight. The second variant has a projecting façade with a lean-to which accentuates the entrance even more. Variant three also has a projecting façade, but with a saw-tooth roof which provides the entire building with indirect sunlight.
Every unit has at least an isolated sectional gate of 4 metres wide and 4.20 metres high, a sanitary block and its own storage room.
Each unit has parking space for three cars. The site will also have two special parking places for disabled persons. The initiators for Ragheno park contacted car company Tesla, which has said to be interested in installing two charging stations for electrical cars at the SME area. Furthermore, between the modern units there is enough room for adequate access roads, parking spaces for visitors and landscaping consisting of trees, bushes and shrubbery.
Since all planning procedures were completed, it is to be expected that developer Vulsteke will even be able to start with the construction of the modern and sustainable units this year (2016). The units will be ready for use by mid 2017. The prices for the new business units in the Ragheno park will be highly competitive. Further details are yet to be revealed.
Business people who think that the new heart of the old city of Mechelen is the place for them to undertake new journeys and who are interested in the new SME park Ragheno can request additional information from the exclusive real estate broker DGI.
DGI bvba
Marina de Groof
Mechelsesteenweg 200
2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
www.DGI.immo
015 55 68 28
marina.degroof@dgi.immo
ASAP rents space for a branch in Nivelles
by Olivier Beherman
Peumans, the business family from Limburg and the driving force behind one of the largest employment services agencies in Belgium, the strongly growing As Soon As Possible (ASAP), will soon occupy a new branch site in Nivelles.
This represents more than 133 m² retail space on the Place Delalieux under the renovated Résidence Gabriël in the centre of Nivelles. ASAP has high expectations of the new branch, because it is situated at a perfect location near the centre of the town, while at the same time it is also an important arterial road.
Health Invest, the initiator for the modernisation of the premises, does not exclude the possibility that the last vacant space in the premises, a retail space covering 204 m² including a small garage, or storage space, will be occupied by an employment agency.
In order to accommodate ASAP, a few more architectural issues on the premises need to be arranged. This concerns exterior joinery, ventilation grilles, heating elements and plasterwork. In mid-December the entire renovation of Résidence Gabriël will be completed. Health Invest commissioned the renovation of the building in March last year. The operation turned out to be more drastic than originally assumed. The interior had to be completely renewed, from walls to wiring, from glazing to roof cladding, and all that has now been done. The building consists of six modern flats, varying in size from 70 to more than 100 m² living area, with one or two bedrooms and/or balcony. All housing units were sold. There is still one retail space available on the ground floor.
Information:
Mr.Olivier Mathurin
Immobilière Sogefi
mathurin@sogefi.be
Mobile: 0479-214 127
The renovation of Résidence Gabriël in the centre of Nivelles
by Olivier Beherman
The renovation of Résidence Gabriël in the centre of Nivelles is nearing completion. The outside wall and the roof of the compound are completely renovated and with its contemporary black and white look it provides extra flair to the environment. It is expected that the last interior works will take another four weeks, and then the residential-commercial compound can be delivered in the course of July.
Health Invest ordered the renovation of the building in March last year. A month later, the demolition of the interior of the old apartment building started. This operation turned out much more laborious than initially thought. The complete interior work needed to be fully renovated, from the walls to the wiring and from the glazing to the roofing, which has now been completed.
Résidence Gabriël consists of six modern apartments varying in size from 70 to over 100 square metres of living area, with one or two bedrooms and/or terrace. Several units have already been sold. The ground floor has 350 square metres of commercial area. To be organised as one or two shops. More information about this project is available elsewhere on this site under Résidence Gabriël.
Information:
Mr.Olivier Mathurin
Immobiliere Sogefi
Square Gabrielle Petit 5
1400 Nivelles
Phone: 067/ 213 006
Mobile: 0479/ 214 127
"BEL M" new challenge for Ragheno Park development"
by Olivier Beherman
Mechelen, the new centre of Belgium!
Every morning and evening, the Flemish and French-language radio stations recite the daily traffic congestions. Gridlock on the Brussels and Antwerp ring roads, delays on the N16 and the N21, congestion on the E40 at Ghent and on the E313 at Hasselt. One name you rarely hear in the daily summaries: Mechelen. A blessing for the people of Mechelen and for the city. Mechelen can promote itself as a pleasant and charming city as well as its central location and easy accessibility by road.
The City Council has been striving for some time now to further optimise Mechelen’s already excellent location and accessibility. And their efforts are paying off. Precisely because of its location between Antwerp and Brussels, Mechelen is becoming more and more popular with companies suffering from the degradation and deteriorating accessibility of these large cities. The growing number of residents demonstrates the increase in local industry. The past decade has in fact seen the number of residents in Mechelen rise by more than 7,000, bringing the population to nearly 84,000. More people are living within a 25 km radius of Mechelen’s main square than in the same radius around Antwerp and Brussels.
To exploit the city and its location’s potential even better, a large-scale redevelopment plan has been drawn up. In the plan, the area around the station will form the main hub. In the coming years, the area surrounding Mechelen’s station will undergo a complete regeneration. Not only will the city gain a new central station, the adjacent premises will be refurbished to blend in and form the new heart of the city.
The strategic extension of the large station area is one of the key aspects of Mechelen’s Municipal Structure Plan. It is the most significant urban development project taking place in Mechelen for the coming decades and will receive indisputable international acclaim. For this station area, 21st century Mechelen has decided to adopt a Sustainable Mobility concept, daring architecture and novel urban planning solutions.
These decisions involve the construction of a new railway line (Bypass) and an essential access road for people and freight transport (Tangent), the development of a multimodal railway and bus station and the reconstruction of streets and squares in the station area, resulting in traffic flow adjustments.
In this way, Mechelen Station is positioning itself as the major hub for the city’s public transport, south of the province of Antwerp and north of the province of Flemish Brabant, including for bus transport. Mechelen Station provides access to the surrounding region: both the city, the suburbs and the more remote districts. It is also where all the city and regional services stop. The new station is a few minutes’ walk from Ragheno Park.
The Tangent and the Bypass are part of the same infrastructure project, providing high-quality urban planning and architecture. Both infrastructures have been designed using an integrated approach. During the construction works, the inconvenience to the city and its residents must be minimal. The future station building – a Eurostation design created by architects Salvatore Bono and Brent Turchak – will be furnished in an attractive, user-friendly and future-oriented style.
The new station is set to become the driving force for regenerating the wider area. A mixed residential and working area will soon emerge on the southeast side of the station, bringing medieval Mechelen into the 21st century. A district should be attractive for living or just relaxing in, but above all it must welcome companies and organisations that are being confronted, elsewhere in Belgium, with space restrictions (lack of options for expansion), poor access and heavy financial burdens (too high rents). These restrictions are conspicuous by their absence in the Ragheno Park area.
Work is already in progress on part of the project area. The centralised blood transfusion service of the Flemish Red Cross was established in Ragheno Park in 2015. This marks the start of a revival of the station area that will change Mechelen’s prospects, and for the near future, definitely put the city back on the map.
To create the new project area, the city of Mechelen has opted to achieve sustainable development, on an economically feasible basis, in a socially responsible way and with minimum ecological impact on the environment.
Entirely within these essential conditions, the Beherman Group is now launching “BEL M”, its second ambitious project after “PURE M” in this area.
BEL M
The ”Bel M” project is situated in Ragheno Park’s urban area, the first area to be currently considered for development. This construction site, lying just south of the Mechelen inner ring road, is a stone’s throw from the Central Station, between Bautersemstraat, Motstraat and Hanswijkvaart. The site borders on the canal from Leuven to the river Dijle in the west.
It is in this development area that the Beherman Group established the headquarters for the centralised blood transfusion service of the Flemish Red Cross last year. The plan area will also accommodate the new office development “Pure M” designed by Jaspers & Eyers Architects.
“Bel M” is a project drawn up by DDR Architects and comprises the creation of a contemporary, multifunctional building complex including offices, a parking garage and apartments.
The entire complex, with its soft lines and pleasing colour-scheme not only meets the requirement for sustainable and flexible office units, but also provides a solution for the pressing problem in this part of the city, namely the increasing lack of parking spaces. Moreover “Bel M” also satisfies many people’s desire to be able to live on the waterfront, alongside the canal
Currently about half of the Flemish people work in office buildings. The possibilities and requirements for a modern office have changed at a rapid rate on account of social, technological and organisational developments.
However, it is essential that people who work in offices also feel at ease, and that the working environment is comfortable and energises people, at least in their field of work. “Bel M” explicitly fulfils these requirements.
For office workers, the main thing that has undergone change in recent years is the workspace. From an enclosed meeting area to a large boardroom, from an open space for deliberations to a sizeable conference room, from hot desks to fixed individual workstations, from flexible work areas without storage space to a desk flanked by filing cabinets. Architects feel more and more obliged to consider both inside and outside spaces. Also, because social developments in mobility and accessibility require them to do so. Structural progress regarding the optimization of flexibility in production processes and technical advances creates new additional opportunities to respond to the above-mentioned developments. Consequently, work will become less and less dependent on time and place. However, it remains important that a good office location stands out by being easily accessible by (motor)bike, public transport and car.
The “Bel M” location is certainly distinctive as far as the above-mentioned aspects are concerned. This is also the case from an architectural perspective, as the building is in fact made up of flexible office sections with a parking garage on various floors, largely concealed at the back of the office building. Both are flanked on the canal side by an apartment building offering various types of apartments, combined on the ground floor with small-scale restaurants and/or areas for independent professionals, subsequently culminating yet again in the diversity required of such a large-scale development.
Architecture description in powerful terms
ENTIRE PLAN
Interaction of different architectural interpretations, as a result of various complementary functions, which together form a fascinating and rich environment. In green and blue surrounded by a ring of green (BPA uncultivated garden zone) and water (wadi and canal). Integrated ‘Motstraat’ typology at the level of the public area, thus achieving a balanced streetscape on Motstraat. Morphologically connected to the surrounding buildings with volumetric growth towards the canal and the heart of the project, namely the square in between the three different interpretations. Final phase – completion of the ‘west access via canal’ section of Ragheno Park.
OFFICES
The layout features a playful combination of rounded corners and circular recesses and projections. By incorporating the curves of the entrances and terraces here and there, the façade opens up to the surrounding area in various places, on the one hand to ensure maximum communication (social interaction) and on the other hand to underline the readability and intelligibility of the space. The boundary between inside and outside fades while the façades seem to go on forever.
The gentle curves, instead of the hard, cold corners that are typical of ordinary office blocks, add continuity to the building. They evoke a connection with the adjacent canal and the boats sailing by.
The horizontal layers look characteristic of a street scene and highlight the elongated terrain. Vertical secondary elements between the layers rescale the building to human dimensions.
White is fresh and thanks to its neutrality, it soaks up the ambient colours, affording the building a lively and powerful appearance, combined with the bronze anodized aluminium which emphasises the individual identity of the office section.
The offices are ideally south-west-east facing to allow natural light in the workspace / parking north facing. Terraces for lunch break relaxation, allow light to penetrate the units and green ‘inside’ the offices.
PARKING GARAGE
Vertically positioned alongside the same premises behind the offices and apartments, with the positive effect of being mostly concealed from the streetscape.
The parking garage is not an autonomous tower block or an underlying, inaccessible ‘pedestal’ that would contribute to both anonymity and a lack of social control.
Oversupply of parking, only 85 + 14 pp are required for the new offices - apartments, which will deal with the nuisance of illegal parking and result in a high-quality public space. This will protect pedestrians and cyclists from danger.
Tension between the structurally diagonal façade elements and the spiral flow of vertical circulation. Roof grid with green elements to conceal the cars and ‘asphalt surface’ from the overall view, so that a ‘green’ and interesting spectacle is on display from the offices, apartments and adjacent buildings.
APARTMENTS
Clear focal point – beacon that connects the canal and the offices with the parking garage. Distinct presence by using the busy levels which ‘squeeze’ loose from each other, on the one hand to display ‘flower boxes’ that provide the urban fabric with the maximum amount of green, and on the other hand to create light and shade that enliven the entire monolith.
Renovation of Residence Gabriel
by Olivier Beherman
The renovation/new build of Residence Gabriel in the centre of Nivelles is going well. Demolition of the old interior of the apartment building started last April. This proved a very difficult task, but once it was done a fairly rapid start could be made on the new building. The work is expected to be completed in the middle of May, after which the homes can be handed over to their new owners.
The basic shell of the complex has now been completed and the internal walls of the apartments need their final finish. The roofing has almost been completed and all that remains is some minor zinc finishing (ridge cladding, boxes angle irons and box gutters) and the fitting of the rainwater goods. The electrician will complete the installation of the equipment in the three apartments on the first floor in the middle of next week, so that a start can then be made on the plastering.
The enclosed photos show that the plumber and heating specialist has completed the first phase of equipment (water supply, drainage infusion, toilet frame support and distribution of heating elements). The walls in the complex have also recently been coated with contact concrete (yellow or pink in colour) that serves as primer for the plaster.
Ultimately ‘Residence Gabriel’ will consist of a variety of modern apartments with one and two bedrooms and/or terrace and balcony. The most generously proportioned residential units (four in number) will have a floor area of some 100 m², the smaller ones approx. 70 m². There is already a purchase option on various apartments.
On the ground floor of the complex are two commercial premises of an area of 350 m², suitable for retail trade in various sectors. Health Invest markets residential properties and shops after renovation at very competitive prices. You can find more information elsewhere on this website under the heading Projects/residential.
Information:
Mr.Olivier Mathurin
Immobiliere Sogefi
Square Gabreille Petit 5
1400 Nivelles
Tel: 067/ 213 006
Mobile: 0479/ 214 127
Modern residential complex in old cinema this autumn in Mons
by Olivier Beherman
Anyone who wants to convert an old cinema into a modern residential complex can be confronted by all sorts of things when they start stripping the old building: secret rooms, thick walls, many old pipelines and much more volume to be demolished than you had bargained on, yet also – after all the rubbish has been removed – more construction volume becoming available (over 20 cubic metres), which then benefits the new apartments, of course.
That being said, the structure (brickwork, roof construction and support structure) in the buildings in the rue des Capucins and the rue de Dinant in Mons is in its final stages and all the members of the construction team are busily working on the actual building, and the finishing-off (electricity, ventilation, heating, inner walls, etc.) has been started.
The concrete slabs of the 3rd floor of the central block have in the meantime been laid, and this will immediately be followed up by the brickwork.The concrete slab of the parking lot is on the point of being laid, so this will still take a number of days. The delivery deadline of October 2016 for the new Corso apartments is still feasible. These are all turnkey apartments. Seventeen in total.
Both the materials used and the interior equipment (built-in kitchen, built-in bathroom and entry intercom) are high quality. The apartments meet the energy efficiency power standards that applied at the moment at which the planning permission was requested.The floor on the ground level is covered with clinker bricks with concrete edges. There is grass in the green areas and mainly indigenous half-standard trees have been planted. The entrance lobbies to the floors are made of exotic wood, supported by a galvanized steel structure. Stairs and railings are made of galvanized metal.
Seventeen different luxury residences, ranging from bedsits to apartments having one, two or three bedrooms, are being constructed in the location of Le Corso cinema in the heart of Mons. Surface areas vary from 57 m² to 140 m². Prices start at EUR 161,460.
More detailed information available from:
Ms Ilona Sekula
Health Invest NV
Mobile: 0476/606537
Find more information on this project on this website under Le Corso Residence, Mons.
Health Invest and Vulsteke develop SME Estate in Ragheno park Mechelen
by Olivier Beherman
Project developer Health Invest and its partner Vulsteke from Kortemark intend to launch the development of an SME estate at the Ragheno park. The Beherman Group owns, through NV Park Ragheno, 11 hectares of land in this planning area and wants to redevelop it to accommodate offices and apartments with the help of its developer Health Invest. On the edge of the development area the group has a cluster of buildings which is used for storage, business activities and offices. Next to the existing buildings lies a large plot of undeveloped land.
This undeveloped site shall be turned into a new centre for small and medium-sized companies in the short term. The planning preparations have already been finalised. Archi.des thinks it can build about eleven SME units on the site with a surface area of 360 m². In addition, there is also room for some larger units of up to 720 m².
The developer, contractor and architect expressly chose three building variants. One variant with a separate entrance door and gate, and with one-directional windows on both the first and second floor and with roof light. The second variant has a projecting façade which accentuates the entrance. The third variant also has a projecting façade, with a shed roof which provides the entire building of indirect sunlight.
Between the modern units there is enough room for adequate access and exit roads, parking spaces (for now there are 112) and landscaping. Further information about rents and sales prices will be available soon.
Sango at home in Mechelen
The building enabled the Red Cross to become future proof regarding its blood stock. Its health library has been festively inaugurated on June 23 by the Flemish minister of culture Sven Gatz.
Sango is located on the Ragheno Park in Mechelen, an area that Beherman Invest and Health Invest will accommodate with offices and residential units.
The first major project, Pure M, will be located next to Sango.
Ministers open new Red Cross-lab in Ragheno-park in Mechelen.
Ministers open new Red Cross-lab in Ragheno-park in Mechelen.
Premier Charles Michel of Belgium and federal minister Maggie the Block of Health Care openend today (4th. June 2015) in the presence of Jo Vandeurzen (Flemish minister of Public Health) and mayor Bart Somers of Mechelen the new central laboratory blood bank of the Red Cross Flanders in Mechelen.
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