Oostakker (Ghent), 30 August 2023 – The renovation works at the shopping park on Herman Teirlinckstraat and Antwerpsesteenweg in Oostakker are completed. The existing stores Brico, MediaMarkt, Auto 5, Bristol, e5 and Kwarto are to welcome two newcomers: the trampoline park Kojump (open since last month) and the supermarket Albert Heijn, which opens today.
Asset manager Redevco has been intensively renovating the site over the past few months. The left wing was demolished and made way for a new building, in which Brico’s surface area was reduced and two new units were created for Albert Heijn (2,300 m² GLA) and Kojump (1,400 m² GLA). In the right wing, the commercial façades were refreshed along with the covered promenade. The car park (460 spaces) has also been fully renovated.
Raf Van den Heuvel, general manager of Albert Heijn Belgium: “The Oostakker store is a milestone that Albert Heijn Belgium is pleased to celebrate. This spacious store is the 75th store for Albert Heijn in Belgium and the 5th store in Ghent.”
Filip de Bois, Portfolio Director at Redevco Belgium, is pleased with the result: “The entire shopping park is again ready for the future with an attractive architecture and sustainable infrastructure. Moreover, with Kojump, there is a nice addition of leisure to the retail offer. It is a special project for Redevco because this site was also one of the first redevelopment projects we completed in Belgium almost 20 years ago. It shows that we continue to invest in the locations where we operate to make them more sustainable and liveable for everyone.”
Improving sustainability and liveability is abundantly reflected in the project. During the demolition, many materials were recycled into raw building materials or reused for new construction elsewhere (e.g. steel). The materials for the new building were deliberately chosen according to ease of disassembly and, in addition, everything was documented in a Madaster materials passport that guarantees circularity of the building in the future. The insulation levels for the buildings have also been greatly improved, so that tenants’ energy consumption remains as low as possible. As with any Redevco redevelopment, the goal is to achieve a BREEAM Excellent score. As part of this, tenants are encouraged through a green lease to use e.g. energy-efficient and low-energy heating/cooling systems. A bioswale was constructed next to the car park to buffer rainwater and allow for delayed infiltration.
After redevelopment the total GLA of the retail park has remained virtually unchanged at 17,700 m². Currently, nearly 500 solar panels are already on the Auto 5, Bristol, e5 and Kwarto stores. Up to 2,500 more solar panels will soon be added on the newly renovated roofs to maximise green power for local tenants.
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