A redevelopment of an
office campus into a
sustainable residential complex
LIFE Europe
A conversation with Steven Zeeman of LIFE Europe
"Amsterdam's metro stop areas outside the ring road have become popular with city dwellers looking for residential space just minutes away from Amsterdam's historic city center. This makes the location of the Entrada office park very favorable. With Entrada, LIFE Europe is creating an accessible and pleasant residential area precisely for this group of people. In determining a strategy for this area, we see opportunities for multiple concepts, including urban living."
Complex redevelopment
"Entrada is a redevelopment of an existing office campus in Amsterdam. It is intended to accommodate more than a thousand homes. The scale and number of different stakeholders makes it a complex project. The intended result of the first step, which NIBC is helping us with, is that in three to four years we will be able to start construction and thus repay NIBC's financing."
Collaboration in a transformation
"We were looking for a financing partner that understands what it's like to go from office use to rezoning, to demolition and construction. NIBC is a very good partner to join this. NIBC has people in-house who do development financing more often and therefore understands what is involved, the time it can take and how to respond to it. The financing is tailored to this and you can see that NIBC's model is to finance precisely the entrepreneurial side and also to think along as an entrepreneur; quickly and decisively with knowledge and expertise."
Green and socially sustainable environment
"This project has several sustainable elements. The first is government and housing sustainability regulations. This results in a significant focus on green, and nearly zero energy housing. The environment here is already very green with water. This will be maximized in the development. In addition, accessibility is a major advantage. Cars are therefore banned in this area. Parking can be provided underground, as a large underground parking garage will be built. In addition, Entrada will also appeal to a mixed group of people through diversity of housing. There will be freehold homes, but also regulated rentals. All this mixed together will make Entrada a lively and interesting area, with a better quality than it has today."