Heylen Warehouses, part of the Kempen-based Heylen Group, is taking over the site of the former Audi factory in Forest. It has signed an agreement to this effect with car manufacturer Audi, as confirmed on Tuesday.
Heylen Warehouses has reached an agreement with the Brussels-Capital Region and the municipality of Forest regarding the redevelopment of the site into a “mixed-use urban business park”, which is expected to create up to 3,000 jobs in the long term.
Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The fact that Heylen Warehouses is taking over the site is not entirely a surprise. Over the past few months, there had already been confirmed news reports that the Kempen-based company was interested.
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The site covers 55 hectares – the largest industrial estate in Brussels – and is also very well situated. It has a high-voltage power line, a rail link and is in the immediate vicinity of both the city centre and the Brussels ring road.
The Audi factory closed its doors there on 28 February last year, after more than three-quarters of a century. Around 3,000 employees lost their jobs at the time, and hundreds more were lost among suppliers as well. It emerged earlier this year that just over half have since found new jobs.
However, for hundreds of former employees, the process is proving to be much more difficult. Hence the Brussels Government's ambition to turn the Audi site into an "economic acceleration zone" and thus attract new industries.
According to De Tijd, Brussels Economy Minister Laurent Hublet (Les Engagés) will urge the Federal Government to reduce labour costs by 4-5% for companies setting up on the site.
Under the agreement concluded between Heylen Warehouses, the Brussels-Capital Region and the municipality of Forest, it has been agreed that the site will be converted into a mixed-use urban business park, "intended to accommodate a wide variety of industrial and innovative businesses and to enable the creation of at least 3,000 jobs".
The project is provisionally named 'Rings Park 21'. The Forest-Midi station is also set to be redeveloped.
It is not yet known which companies will set up on the site. Heylen Warehouses is managing the redevelopment itself and is targeting "a broad range of players", ranging from SMEs to multinationals.
In De Tijd, Wim Heylen said that he plans to build a through road right across the site, so that it is opened up and there is greater connection with the neighbourhood. A number of Audi buildings will be repurposed, whilst other parts will be demolished.
"Our ambition is not to turn the page on Brussels’ industrial history, but to rewrite it, with more businesses, more jobs and a site that is finally open to its local community and its city. We are determined to make this a project of which Brussels can be proud," the company said.
Heylen acknowledged that the redevelopment of the site will take years, but hopes to be able to announce the first jobs as early as 2027. "It will be a long-term endeavour, but we are not sitting still and are starting today."
A temporary use of the site is also among the possibilities.
Heylen Group has a turnover of over €1.1 billion and employs around 3,200 people across more than 40 companies operating in a wide range of sectors, such as energy, technology, food, events and kitchens.
The group already has experience with redevelopment, having taken over the Caterpillar site in Gosselies, which it is redeveloping into an SME zone.
