Municipality of Nijmegen awards contract for Hezelpoort residential tower to developer VanWonen
News item, Inner-city projects
In a European tender, the municipality of Nijmegen selected -out of three candidates- the plan for a residential tower by area developer VanWonen as the best proposal for the area next to the Nieuwe Hezelpoort. The residential tower that will be realised by VanWonen consists of 383 apartments, 211 of which are in the affordable segment. There will also be an underground car park for the city with 573 parking spaces. The complex will be named ‘Duet’, referring to the two towers that are connected.
The development of Hezelpoort is of utmost importance for Nijmegen. With it, the municipality wants to create a unique and sustainable area for living, working and parking at the pivotal point between the Waalfront, the railway station area and the city centre of Nijmegen. Alderman Noël Vergunst: “We are faced with an enormous housing challenge. The entire area around the railway station will eventually have to accommodate 2000 new homes. 383 homes in various price categories will be built here, with a significant proportion of them being affordable. A great achievement for this area. The high-rise building will be built partly with wood and other reusable materials. And the surroundings will have very green landscaping. I can’t wait for the result to be there”.
Duet: contemporary residential tower in green surroundings
In the railway station area, near the Waalfront (the area on the banks of the river Waal) and next to the Nieuwe Hezelpoort close to the city centre, Duet will arise. A residential tower in green surroundings, on the site of the car park ‘Oude Stad’ in Nijmegen-West. Duet will be a vertical urban district with a rich diversity of neighbourhoods.
Alfred Bolks, CEO of VanWonen, about the plan: "We are creating a contemporary residential tower, with lively meeting spaces in a green corridor. This is where living, working, parking and meeting others come together. We are thus creating a new vertical city district with a rich diversity of neighbourhoods, one above the other. The height of the building allows us to give a lot of public and green space back to the city, in the form of the new Hezelplein square, a rooftop park and a wide green corridor.”
Duet and Hezelplein
Duet and the new Hezelplein square are inseparably connected; they encourage social interaction between residents, local residents and visitors to the city. The new square refers to the old, historical square - where wagons were parked outside the city walls - and forms the new entrance to the city centre. In addition, the square acts as a unifying element between the city centre, the Waalfront, the railway station area and De Biezen. The square is embraced by a lively plinth, featuring a community ‘living room’, shops, restaurants and the entrances to the homes, parking facilities and bicycle parking.
Partners involved and planning
The Duet plan is the brainchild of area developer VanWonen and has been developed in collaboration with Powerhouse Company, de Architekten Cie. and LOLA Landscape Architects, among others. The first homes will go on sale mid-2024. Construction work can start by the end of 2024. The entire plan development will take four years.
