Housing corporation Rochdale and construction firm Heijmans have signed a cooperation agreement for the transformation of the southern part of the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood in Amsterdam’s Nieuw-West district. The first phase involves the construction of a residential tower block and an apartment complex with a total of 300 homes and approximately 1,000 m2 of commercial space. This part of the project will generate revenue of € 66 million for Heijmans. Heijmans expects to complete this phase in 2030.
At a later stage, the two will add a number of subprojects with both social rental housing and mid-segment rental and owner-occupied homes. In total, Heijmans will develop and realise around 590 homes: more than 400 social and mid-rental segment homes for Rochdale and 184 owner-occupied homes.
Sustainability and well-being
In addition, the public space in the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood will be redesigned, with the focus on greening, climate adaptation and nature inclusiveness, which will improve the quality of life and combat heat stress, among other things. The area renewal will also include a number of social initiatives.
Because many residents in the Van Deyssel neighbourhood could use a helping hand, the project includes the addition of facilities for various welfare organisations on Lodewijk van Deysselstraat. The project will add an active plinth with various neighbourhood-related functions to the neighbourhood’s characteristic and listing-worthy buildings. Examples include the Rochdale community centre, the neighbourhood kitchen and the ‘Eendagszaak’, a low-threshold location where local residents can meet each other or do business. This will ensure that Lodewijk van Deysselstraat is and remains the most important expression of the neighbourhood's identity.
Eric Nagengast, Director of Real Estate at Rochdale: “The Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood is one of our most important and extensive projects. We are pleased that we are joining forces with Heijmans and can now deal with the complexity of this project to develop a strong neighbourhood where everyone feels at home.”
This collaboration is in line with Heijmans’ strategy, Together towards 2030, one of the five pillars of which is the well-being of end users. “We always think from the user’s point of view. That’s why we do what we do. Our efforts produce an environment that is healthy, safe and attractive. We are not satisfied until users actually experience improvement, an environment that promotes their well-being. This is how our work contributes to people’s happiness,” said Esther Fleers, director at Heijmans Real Estate in the Northwest region.
Reason for the project
The Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood in the western garden cities of Amsterdam is a post-war neighbourhood with more than 1,200 homes. The neighbourhood was part of Amsterdam’s illustrious General Expansion Plan (Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan - AUP) and so represents significant urban heritage, but now has one of the lowest liveability scores in the Dutch capital. The housing stock in the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood is very one-sided: almost 90% of the housing stock in the neighbourhood is social housing, owned by housing corporation Rochdale. These homes no longer meet today’s requirements and the public space no longer offers sufficient quality of use.
Total renewal plan
Together with the City of Amsterdam and residents, Rochdale and Heijmans drew up an area analysis and future perspective for the neighbourhood. They then further developed this area vision into a concrete renewal plan. The renewal plan describes how the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood will be transformed into a strong, social and enterprising neighbourhood, which includes a return plan for all current residents. The Renewal Plan was then used to draw up a more detailed Investment Memorandum, which was approved by the Amsterdam City Council in December 2021.
The neighbourhood currently has about 1,200 homes, almost all in the social rental sector. Over half (700) of the homes will be sustainably renovated, while slightly less than half (about 500 homes) will be demolished and replaced with new-build homes. On top of that, about 600 additional new homes are planned. Following the renewal operation, the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood will offer approximately 1,800 homes: 60% social rental, 20% in the mid-rental segment and 20% owner-occupied. The aim is to create a mixed, lively neighbourhood with room for different income and population groups (starters, singles, families and the elderly).
About Rochdale
Housing corporation Rochdale rents out nearly 38,000 homes in the Amsterdam metropolitan region. Quality and affordable housing in strong neighbourhoods, for people with modest incomes. This is what Rochdale has stood for since its founding in 1903. Together with lots of other people, Rochdale’s 500 employees work hard to achieve this every single day. Meanwhile, building new homes remains the solution to the housing shortage. Rochdale’s real estate programme is ambitious. The programme for the next ten years includes the construction of nearly 7,000 new-build homes and the renovation/improved sustainability of over 6,000 more. Entire city districts are lagging behind developments in Greater Amsterdam. Within our sphere of operations, this is particularly true of Amsterdam Nieuw-West (which includes the Lodewijk van Deyssel neighbourhood), Amsterdam-Zuidoost and Zaandam-Oost. These are three of the 20 urban areas for which National Liveability and Safety programmes were developed in 2022. For more information (in Dutch): www.rochdale.nl/ en https://deysselbuurt.nl/
