De Stentor 30-09-20
A sizeable new block is on its way for home seekers in Harderwijk. On the corner of the Hoofdweg and the Verkeersweg, a complex with 220 apartments and homes is to be built.
The housing project has been in the pipeline for some time. Veldboom took over the site last year from project developer Wijori, Hulsink Onroerend Goed B.V. and Vandenbrink Onroerend Goed. Wijori presented the first plans in November 2017, and at the time the aim was to start construction as early as 2018.
That did not happen. In consultation with the municipality, Veldboom has put together a new and more extensive building plan in recent months. Initially, the plan covered the section from the corner of the Hoofdweg and the Couperuslaan to halfway along the commercial buildings on the Verkeersweg. The building on the corner of the Handelsweg, which used to house Kwikfit, will now also make way for housing.
The new development will be partly four and partly five storeys high. Some of the existing buildings have already been demolished, and the Rabobank office on the Hoofdweg will disappear.
Bank relocates
In the original plans, the bank was to be given a place in the new development. But that has changed too. This autumn, the Rabobank is moving to the Luttekepoortstraat, opposite the Houtwal.
Johannes Flim, director of real estate development at Veldboom, reports that the application for the environmental permit was submitted to the municipality last week. “The new plan fits better with what we have in mind,” he says. “It also aligns even more closely with the municipality’s housing vision.”
40 to 120 square metres
A quarter of the 220 homes fall under social rent, up to 736 euros per month. The rest will be built for the mid-rental segment, up to 950 euros per month. The apartments range from 40 to 120 square metres. The complex will also include a number of larger and more expensive rental homes.
Part of the ground floor will be given a commercial function. Exactly what will be located there is not yet known. Care facilities for the new residents are also being considered.
Courtyard garden above the cars
A green courtyard garden will be laid out on top of the semi-sunken car park. There will also be parking spaces along the Verkeersweg and the Hoofdweg.
Local residents will soon receive an invitation to learn more about the plans. According to Flim, the intention is to demolish the Kwikfit building this year. Construction of the first phase, near the roundabout on the corner of the Verkeersweg and the Hoofdweg, can then start in the first quarter of 2021.
On the opposite side of the roundabout, a residential complex was previously built on the former post office site. In terms of height, the new development will also be in line with the Kok Experience building.
On the Handelsweg, next to Veldboom’s planned new development, work is now under way on the construction of twenty owner-occupied homes.