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Amsterdam – Real estate developer Boelens de Gruyter will start as a delegated developer commissioned by and in collaboration with Profound Asset Management early next year with the redevelopment of building De Ster on the Schorpioenstraat in Rotterdam. The office building will accommodate approximately 160 homes and will have several facilities in the plinth.
The redevelopment of De Ster is the first large-scale project near train station Rotterdam Alexander. The existing building will be retained and transformed into a sustainable residential tower. The existing façade is undergoing a major intervention, creating space for balconies for the residents and giving the building a modern look. In total, the redevelopment, when completed by the end of the summer of 2022, will provide 15,000 square meters of new living space and 1,000 square meters of facilities on the ground floor, which will give a major boost to the area.
Lively center
The redevelopment of the De Ster building contributes to the transformation of the Rotterdam Alexander area from an anonymous and monotonous area to a lively center with well-developed living, working, shopping and leisure functions. “It is great to contribute to the positive development of this Rotterdam district,” says Maarten de Gruyter of real estate developer Boelens de Gruyter. “Moreover, we contribute to reducing the housing shortage.”
“The building has served excellently as an office building for an extensive amount of time,” says Rick Verstappen, Head of Asset Management at Profound Asset Management. “Given the large-scale area developments in Rotterdam Alexander, we choose to transform the building into a residential building. With this extensive investment, we are creating a future-proof building that meets the current demand for housing.”
Strenghtening characteristic parts
The design was carried out by internationally operating architectural firm Mecanoo from Delft, known for, among other things, the TU Delft library. Mecanoo is currently involved in the renovation of the Boijmans van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam. The design for the De Ster building resonates well with Mecanoo’s ambition to design for the people and to preserve and strengthen characteristic parts of buildings during renovations. For De Ster, this means returning the building to only rectangular shapes and an addition of green outdoor space on the roofs with an accessible ground floor.
De Ster was built in 1992 as an office building, within walking distance of the Alexandrium shopping center. In addition to shops, the immediate vicinity also offers plenty of restaurants. The building is easily accessible by car, as the entrances and exits of the A20 are a few minutes’ drive away. Because De Ster is located right next to the recently renovated intercity and metro station Rotterdam Alexander, it is easily accessible by public transport.
About Profound Asset Managment
Profound Asset Management provides high-quality fund and asset management for real estate funds, for both private and institutional investors. Profound has a proven track record in (re)structuring real estate funds, financing management and optimization of real estate portfolios.
About Boelens de Gruyter
Real estate developer Boelens de Gruyter specializes in inner-city redevelopment, finding challenge in the transformation of existing buildings in order to give them a sustainable new future, and in redeveloping existing inner-city areas into a completely new destination. Successful transformations of the Parooltoren and Trouwgebouw on the Amsterdam Wibautstraat are recent examples as well are the redevelopments of the former KPN buildings in Den Bosch and Venlo into new living/working and museum/work destinations respectively. Boelens de Gruyter is a partner in the transformation of the Canal Zone in Utrecht as well, where industrial sites will be redeveloped into the new green Merwede district in coming years.