New plans area D'r Pool

On the site where Recreation Complex D'r Pool is now located, apartments and town houses will be built in an attractive residential environment. It is a unique location close to downtown.

 Alderman Tim Weijers (Housing/Rural Planning/Public Space) said, "The planned housing will be offered in the medium to expensive rental and/or owner-occupied category. We made a conscious choice for this. This is because we are getting more and more signals that there is a great demand for quality new housing in the center and at this location we have space for this. In other locations around the center, many homes in a lower rental/purchase class have also been or will be built in the coming years, such as at SUPERLOCAL Bleijerheide and in Rolduckerveld. The arrival of the new homes at D'r Pool creates a relocation flow that ultimately ends up with starters in the housing market, and that makes for a positive contribution to meeting the housing need."

Alderman Weijers continued: "We also think it is important that local residents can contribute their ideas. Therefore, they will receive a flyer with all the information on how they can contribute. The new residents of the area will later be involved in the design of the park."
 

Winning design

The winning design is by Humblé Martens Willems architects. Their ideas fit best with the starting points drawn up beforehand by the municipality. These include the minimum number and types of homes to be built, the parking solutions and the layout of the site. It will be a unique plan.

Urban development plan

The winning design will form the basis for further development into an urban development plan on which all components such as buildings, greenery, roads, parking and other important issues will be included. 

Planning

The urban development plan should be completed by the end of May 2022, and a new swimming pool will be built at the Vie project (behind the Town Hall) in the center and will open in the spring of 2022. The demolition of D'r Pool is then scheduled for early 2023 and will take several months. Preparations for the construction of the new homes will take until the fall of 2023. Construction will then begin in late 2023 / early 2024. 

Explanation of winning design

On the north side of the plan, parallel to Engerweg, there will be an elongated apartment building. On the east side, on the site of the backyards of the houses on Stationsstraat, town houses will be realized which connect to it with their backyards. On Kapellaan, a detached small-scale building with "Park apartments" is planned. An underground parking garage is available for parking. Placing the apartment buildings and town houses around a "courtyard" creates a small park and a raised "terrace" above the parking garage. The area also creates some walking routes connecting the Putgang, Kapellaan and Engerweg-Einderstraat.       

More info?

During the week of Feb. 7, you can find all of the project's information on the D'r Pool project page

An impression of what the area will look like after the demolition of D'r Pool. A close-up of a park bench where people rest and work in the garden. Around the parkway are buildings.
An impression of what the area will look like after the demolition of D'r Pool. A view through the brick gate of one of the buildings towards the park with trees and flowers. People walk on the paths between the buildings and the park.
An impression of what the area will look like after the demolition of D'r Pool. On either side buildings with a park in the middle. People walk and cycle along the street. In the sky a hot air balloon. On the right a rhinoceros.