News
BelsenPark-Oberkassel: The launch of a new urban quarter
Vivico was this year granted building rights for the development of the eastern section of BelsenPark. The previous leases for the warehouses on the site expired in early November. Clearing work will begin at the beginning of January to tear down the old, unused buildings.
At the same time, marketing activities for the nine construction sites have already begun. A pedestrian zone will mark the start of the quarter, beginning at Belsenplatz and establishing an initial connection to the urban quarter. A mix of apartments, offices, retail stores and restaurants will be developed here, spread out over five plots.
"The area will change dramatically in the first quarter of the new year", Olaf Heinrich, head of Vivico's project office in Düsseldorf, told journalists on a tour of the site. "The entire dimension of the site will become visible when the walls and the old warehouses are torn down." In building the pedestrian zone, great emphasis will be placed on the overall urban planning context. "Here high quality is just as important as the continuation and contemporary interpretation of the traditional location of Oberkassel." The planned retail stores in the pedastrian zone are intended to supply the quarter and add to the shopping options already available in Oberkassel.
The realisation of this project will open up the area and provide new routes in this part of the city, for example from Hansaallee to Greifweg. The residential buildings will be developed on four plots by the park, most of which will be facing southwest. All age groups and situations have been taken into consideration: from single apartments to apartments for eldery people. Barrier-free living will be possible throughout BelsenPark. Green courtyards, squares and roof gardens continue the landscaping concept. The park is also an important component in the regional context of the greenbelt project "From the Rhine to the Rhine". Due to its size of around 20,000 m², it also has microclimatic significance for the entire quarter in terms of acting as a "green lung".
Vivico is developing BelsenPark together with strong partners. "Simply in terms of the scope and timeframes, such an area could not be realised single-handedly" Heinrich explains. Sales to investors are just as conceivable as in-house realisation with corresponding pre-leasing. "Various developers with different ideas are also contributing to the desired lively mix."
The demolition work is expected to last until the spring of 2011. Construction work to provide a connection to the quarter is expected to beginn in mid-2011, with the first buildings being started at the same time. The park will be laid out from 2013.