PingProperties lays the basis for the urban redevelopment of the former ENKA/AkzoNobel site in Arnhem

03-12-2018

On 14 December this year PingProperties finalized negotiations with a number of parties for the large-scale urban redevelopment of the former ENKA/AkzoNobel site in Arnhem. During the coming years PingProperties will be transforming the site that is home to AkzoNobel into a multifunctional district. The transformation of this area will begin in January 2019 and is expected to be completed in mid-2021.

Current lessees and one newcomer, the Rijn IJssel education institution, have been involved in the agreement concluded by PingProperties. Under the agreement, current users will relocate within the complex and new users will move in, while existing buildings will be redeveloped, renovated and extended.

A sustainable school campus is to be built on the site for Rijn IJssel. The plans involve the redevelopment of approx. 20,000 m2 and an addition of approx. 6,500 m2. Rijn IJssel will be bringing together on this campus its Creative Industry, Engineering and ICT departments, together with its central staff functions, making this site the new headquarters of the education institution. The agreement with Rijn IJssel involves a combination of purchase and a 30-year lease. With a total of 24 locations offering more than 150 secondary vocational education courses, Rijn IJssel is the leading regional training centre for Arnhem, Wageningen and the surrounding area.

For the lessee AkzoNobel, this agreement is a continuation of its strategy for the location. AkzoNobel has already relocated its head office to the Zuidas in Amsterdam, making space for Rijn IJssel, but will remain as a long-term lessee in the striking office tower.

The former AKZO site at Velperweg 76 in Arnhem has been owned by PingProperties since 2012. The site covers 13.1 hectares, with approx. 70,000 m² of office and laboratory buildings and approx. 700 parking spaces. Until recently the area with its lessees had a purely commercial function. In 2017 PingProperties sold approx. 5 hectares of the land to the KlokGroep/BPD group for the development of a housing estate offering a high-quality living environment. The move by Rijn IJssel to the site will also add an educational function, underlining the area’s future multifunctional role combining housing, commerce and education.