New entrance to the city center

At least 550 homes, a hotel and the Beurs metro station will be approached, according to the plan that the college of mayors and aldermen approved on Tuesday. The city council will later take a decision on the so-called memorandum of principles.

Renovation Coolse Poort

The De Coolse Poort office building (‘de Rode Kroot’) will be given new functions, while retaining the Post-65 architecture (1965-1990). The facade will be renewed and the building will soon offer spaces for offices, flexible workspaces, shops, catering and a hotel.

The adjacent office building on Westblaak gives way to high-rise buildings with a maximum height of 200 meters. This tower will house a mix of housing and various amenities, workplaces, restaurants and shops. There will be between 550 and 700 owner-occupied and rental units, ranging from the affordable segment to the upper segment. “Half of new housing is in the social and middle segment with possible housing for students,” explains Alderman Bas Kurvers (Building and Living).

Bourse metro station

Beurs metro station, the busiest metro station in the Netherlands, will have a renovated entrance from the city center, towards Binnenwegplein. Rotterdam Municipality, RET and Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region are studying how and if the Beurs public transport interchange can be improved. In the study, the parties seek to improve comfort, accessibility, safety, the possibility of parking bicycles underground and the connection to other transport.

Best starter

The public space is improved with fewer obstacles and height differences for pedestrians. This creates a better and more accessible entrance to the largest shopping area in the city center. There will be new paving, lighting and more greenery, which will make it a more pleasant place to stay. Pedestrians will soon pass easily from the renovated Coolsingel to the future Blaakpark (one of the city’s 7 projects).

Planning

The architectural firm Mecanoo and the Local developer worked on the master plan for Hart 010. The redevelopment of the district will begin with the transformation of the Coolse Poort in 2022. At the same time, the plans for the Beurs metro station will be further developed and a design will be developed for the new tower, requiring a zoning change. The development of the whole area is expected to take 5 to 10 years.