Start of housing preferences inquiry for first residential buildings in Stadshavens Groningen

News item, Area and Property Development

As of today, developer VanWonen will start talking to interested parties about their housing preferences for the first phase of the new Stadshavens neighbourhood. It concerns about 300 homes, 4000 square metre of commercial space, and a multi-storey car park in the area between Balkgat and Eltjo Ruggeweg, close to the city centre. VanWonen has begun development and will be working with interested parties over the next few months to refine the preliminary design of the homes. Anyone interested in a home in the new part of the city can now register and share their housing preferences.

Work is about to begin on the westernmost part of Stadshavens, near the city centre. VanWonen is starting the development of the multi-storey car park and the houses around this building (block 1 on the map). ANA architects is responsible for the design of this block. Furthermore, the building with Lefier’s social housing apartments (block 6) and the building with owner-occupied apartments (block 7) will be developed in the westernmost part of the area. Koschuch architects has been selected for the design of these.

Alfred Bolks, CEO of VanWonen, is proud: “We are finally making real progress in Stadshavens. This is fantastic news for the city and for anyone looking to live in a vibrant, green, and urban neighbourhood in Groningen. I’m confident that together with the future residents and the other partners in the area, we will create something truly special here.”

Stadshavens Groningen
The municipality of Groningen, developers VanWonen, VolkerWessels Vastgoed and BPD | Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling, and housing associations Lefier and Nijestee are jointly developing Stadshavens. This will be a pleasant, green urban neighbourhood to live, work and relax. In total, there will be 3,300 homes and 33,000 square metre of business space for commercial and social amenities and a ‘Port Park’. There will be a varied range of house types. Stadshavens will be a car-free zone.

The area will feature bicycle and walking paths, quays and inviting squares where people can get together and relax. The Damsterdiep will be transformed into a green city avenue. And at the location where the transhipment of sand used to take place, there will be a large Port Park. A park will also be created at Oostersluis. To make way for this new development, the industrial area along the Eemskanaal canal will be demolished. Characteristic buildings in the area, such as the EMG silo, the ‘zakkenloods’ (a former warehouse for the storage of bulk bags) and the Cova chimney, will be preserved. The combination of modern and historic buildings is what makes Stadshavens stand out; it will be loved as a quaint slice of the city.

Registration and timeline
VanWonen expects to complete the preliminary design for blocks 1, 6 and 7 by mid-2025, allowing for pre-sales of the homes to begin. The sale is expected to commence in the final quarter of 2025. To register, please visit www.stadshavens-trossenlos.nl. The social homes are rented out by Lefier. Once they are completed, they will be advertised on www.woningnetgroningen.nl.