The city of Leuven is embarking on a search for a team to design plans for a new residential area on Sint-Jansbergsesteenweg, following the approval of the project on Monday.
The city announced that a designer should be chosen by the start of next year.
Original plans for the site, located behind Arenberg campus in Heverlee, were initiated at the end of 2020. The site is to accommodate 440 new homes, half of which will be designated for social renters. The rest will be reserved for Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) researchers looking for temporary accommodation for several months to a few years.
Space will also be allocated to build a community centre and a nursery, while a food and play forest will be planted.
In 2022, the city purchased the required lands in collaboration with social housing company Dijledal and KU Leuven. A shortlist was compiled at the end of last year, resulting in the selection of five potential design teams. One of these teams will be chosen to draw up the plans for the project, with a decision expected by early 2025. The timeline for construction has not yet been determined.
When the project was discussed at a municipal council meeting on Monday evening, N-VA group leader Zeger Debyser raised questions about the size of the future community centre and highlighted the importance of genuine local community consultation.
In response, Housing Alderman Lies Corneillie (Green) said the viability of a larger space for the community centre and the construction of a nursery would be looked into. In the interest of time, however, the current specifications were being approved, she explained.
Corneillie assured councillors that there would be community input into the design, but within the framework of the existing proposal. A public meeting is planned before the start of more detailed design work.
