The municipality in Ixelles hosted a lengthy consultation meeting on Wednesday to discuss the 'Universalis Park 3' project, which proposes building five new buildings on the Plaine campus for around 1,150 homes, student accommodation, and public facilities.
The project, led by developer Immobel, has drawn significant opposition. Three citizen groups have mobilised, and roughly 250 individual complaints were submitted during the public inquiry, which ended on 16 September.
Residents of the nearby ABC buildings – whose initial permit was annulled by the Council of State in 2019 – are concerned about excessive densification. They fear the addition of 18-storey towers will detract from the promised park-like atmosphere of their neighbourhood.
The group Sauvons la Plaine has urged for biodiversity preservation and warned against increased soil artificialisation. Meanwhile, the Voisins de Delta group criticised the lack of a cohesive vision to manage multiple developments in the area, including the 80-metre towers of the Triomphe 172 project, the Chirec hospital centre, and other expansions on the Plaine campus.
The councillor for Urban Planning Julie De Groote (Les Engagés) has called for a reduction in the project’s construction area to 60,000 square metres, far below the 103,000 square metres requested by Immobel.
Meanwhile, Mayor Romain De Reusme (PS) emphasised that while the land will be developed, it must align better with the surrounding environment.
The neighbouring Auderghem municipality also took part in the meeting and is expected to issue its opinion, alongside those of Ixelles and the Brussels Regional Government. The consultation commission’s decision will be announced next Wednesday.
