The Urban Development Company (SAU) announced the winning project for the development of the Josaphat wasteland. The Eiffage/AXA consortium was selected to carry out the project, which will cover 4 hectares and consist of 509 housing units, including social rental units and medium-sized housing. Nine housing blocks and a school will be built, with a focus on incorporating green spaces into the design. However, the project has been criticized by Ecolo for encroaching on areas with high biodiversity. Despite previous disagreements between the Socialists and Ecolo, the former proceeded without an agreement in government, drawing criticism from the latter. Alain Maron, Brussels Minister for the Environment, expressed skepticism of the project, stating that experts recommend preserving natural areas in land development projects whenever possible.
The Urban Development Company (SAU) unveiled this Thursday the winning project of the competitive dialogue which prefigures the new district which will be built on the site of the Josaphat wasteland. The Eiffage/AXA consortium was officially chosen to ensure its implementation. The project extends over approximately 4 hectares and provides for the construction of 509 housing units, including 246 private housing units, 135 social rental housing units, 105 medium-sized housing units and 23 acquisition social housing units. In total, nine blocks of housing and a school will see the light of day.
The SAU argues that it is “as much a park as a new district”, in the sense that the project has been designed so that the housing embraces the green spaces, which represent a quarter of the surface to be built. . A dozen ponds and wetlands must be created in particular.
A compromise is possible for the future of the Josaphat wasteland
However, the project encroaches on the area that concentrates the highest degree of biodiversity. The Urban Development Company (SAU) is justified by the crying need for housing in Brussels, where no less than 50,000 households are waiting for social housing. We learned this Thursday that the northern part of the wasteland will be left as it is without development. The biodiversity that is to the south, on the site of the constructions, should therefore theoretically “rise” towards this area. The landscape architect of the Wald office, Clément Willemin, ensures that “new species will establish themselves in the district” since the southern zone (inhabited by humans) will integrate more wet spaces, ponds, vegetation of reeds and rain gardens.
If the question of green spaces and biodiversity attracts so much attention, it is because the Socialist Party and Ecolo, two of the parties that make up the Brussels government, have been quarreling for several years over the fate of the Josaphat wasteland. For good reason, while the socialists wanted to build housing there, Ecolo wanted to preserve the entirety of this green space for the richness of its biodiversity and the climatic virtues.
After years of disagreement, the PS decided at the beginning of 2023 to do without the Greens agreement to move forward on the file. A decision denounced as a forced passage by Ecolo and who practiced the policy of the empty chair for three weeks in the Brussels government, between February and March 2023.
Alain Maron (Écolo), Brussels Minister for the Environment, also reacted with skepticism to the construction project which was unveiled on Thursday. “We note the continuation of a logic of passage in force, in spite of the absence of agreement in government on this filelamented his cabinet. For our part, we continue to do our utmost to ensure that the challenges of combating the collapse of biodiversity and the challenges of adapting to the disastrous effects of climate change are even more and better integrated into land development projects. We would like to remind you that the experts plead for the preservation of natural areas as much as possible, especially when alternatives are possible.”.
The winning project for the Josaphat wasteland has finally been unveiled by the Urban Development Company (SAU), paving the way for the transformation of the site into a new district. The Eiffage/AXA consortium will be responsible for the implementation of the project, which will include the construction of 509 housing units, nine blocks of housing, and a school. While the project is designed to embrace green spaces, concerns have been raised regarding the impact on biodiversity. Despite disagreements among political parties, the project will move forward, highlighting the challenges of balancing the need for social housing with preserving natural areas. Only time will tell whether this compromise will be successful, but with careful planning and execution, new life might flourish in the heart of the city.
