2023-09-08 18:22:00
Nickel, this construction site. The best. This is the spontaneous impression of Walloon Minister Adrien Dolimont and the Secretary General of the Public Service of Wallonia (SPW) Sylvie Marique following their first steps in this office building which has just emerged from the ground on boulevard Mélot, at number 50. A brand new administrative building, delivered at the end of August in closed structural work.
This Friday morning, there is just a black desk behind which the Minister of Budget and Finance outlines the general ambition of Wallonia’s real estate strategy: to put the large stock of buildings, which the Region manages as tenant, lessor and owner, in tune with the major issues of the moment. Which augurs a famous big bang. Civil servants will migrate here and there in the name of the great turning point in post-Covid society.
In a single place in Namur, Boulevard Mélot, where the face of the city has changed most spectacularly, the aim is to bring together energy performance, the most direct and efficient mobility and, finally, The interior of this building can be seen as a blank page, maximum modularity taking into account the current revolution, that of teleworking.
South Cape and North Cape
Currently, Wallonia, excluding ministerial offices, has 44 administrative and technical sites distributed unevenly between Namur and Jambes. After real estate overhaul and rebalancing of resources, there will only be 8 large sites left (6 general directorates, 1 general secretariat and the WAllonne Heritage Agency).
Jambes will lose 1,366 agents and Namur will be replenished with the same number. The heart of Wallonia will beat twice as much in Namur, with 3175 agents, as in Jambes, with 1513 agents.
At number 50 boulevard Mélot, Wallonia will bring together its future general secretariat in 2025. But not only. This set of 4 buildings totaling 24,000 m2 will reserve 3,000 for premises dedicated to training and “Talents Wallonie”, the SPW recruitment center.
This block of offices took the name Cap Sud, in opposition to the administrative center Cap Nord which stands on Boulevard du Nord, just on the other side of the station. The largest center ever built in Wallonia which has hosted the no less super-Ministry of Mobility and Infrastructure for 20 years.
The general secretariat is made up of some 1,100 agents working in the so-called transversal services of Wallonia, also called support: human resources, IT, communication, real estate and furniture strategy, translation and legal services, etc.
South Cape, explains the general secretary of the SPW, is a block of buildings which, in the light of a time of major crises, ticks all the boxes of what warming or even climate collapse requires us to do. Including that of energy performance thanks to BREEAM Very Good certification, the best there is.
Ultimately, leaving old energy sieves to come together between new walls meeting the last carat of innovation, that’s a net gain of €990,000.
The building on Place de la Wallonie, in the heart of Jambes, which only dates back to 1994, is already in need of renovation.
Cap Sud, which has a view of the station, is also the best choice for mobility. This is evidenced by the results of an internal investigation. Located on Boulevard Mélot, only 31% will still favor the car, compared to 50% currently.
Between moving and moving in, this major real estate reorganization will be synonymous with substantial savings. The minister has already estimated them, by 2030, at 7 million.
New perspectives
The express tour of this architectural figurehead, which redesigns the entire station district, ended on the 5th and last floor. The outdoor terrace offers unique perspectives and panoramas, overlooking Boulevard Mélot, Square d’Omalius, Avenue de Stassart, etc. We rediscover the station and its convergence of railway parallels. Beyond, the cathedral and the green lungs of the citadel.
Another building, all white and 6 floors, will soon take part in this waltz of offices in multiple phases: it is the Cross Point, which has erased the old post office from the decor. In spring 2024, SPW Finances and all of its expertise tools, i.e. 570 agents for 11,300 m2, will migrate there.
Ultimately, from spring 2025, all support professions will be brought together on Boulevard Mélot, i.e. nearly 2,000 agents. So many people. In a word, long live the train.
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