Rotterdam is rebuilding its reputation as skyscraper capital of the Netherlands by reviving plans – shelved during the financial crisis – to build several new towers.
High-rise in the lowlands may seen an anomaly, but Rotterdam is seeing a string of tower projects rise up to touch the sky, fast earning it the nickname ‘Manhattan on the Maas’. And although the towers rising up in the Dutch port city pale in comparison to tall buildings in other parts of the world, notably Dubai, the skyscrapers gracing its skyline are high by Dutch standards. Rotterdam currently has 19 towers taller than 100 metres, compared to seven in The Hague and just six in Amsterdam.
If the plans currently being revived are carried through to completion, Rotterdam will see a number of towers exceed that mark – with a couple stretching even taller than the 200-metre barrier. The Zalmhaventoren (literally salmon port tower) near the Erasmus bridge is a case in point. The original design by Diederik Dam dates from 2011 and although it has been amended, the height has stayed intact at 212 metres – albeit that this is due to a 24-metre build-on peak. The tower will comprise 260 apartments and another 215 units in the adjacent lower buildings, as well as 7,500 m2 of office space and commercial services.
Another spectacular addition to the Rotterdam skyline is The Sax on Wilhelmina Pier, which will consist of two towers measuring 150 and 75 metres in height respectively, linked by a floating restaurant and skybox bar. Plans for the project – which will comprise a total of 360 apartments and possibly a hotel - were signed by developers BPD and Synchroon during Mipim last year and construction work is due to start in 2018.
Boston and Seattle
Flanking The Sax, two residential towers – Boston and Seattle (pictured) – are currently being built, comprising a combined 220 apartments and 1,500 m2 of commercial space, which will be delivered in September. Together with the World Port Center, Montevideo, New Orleans and Rotterdam which were completed earlier, the Wilhelmina Pier is approaching completion. The site from which hundreds of thousands of emigrants departed for New York during the 19th century, now looks more like the Manhattan which the newcomers encountered on arrival.
The Wijnhaven Island and former port area on the other side of the river Maas have also seen strong building activity in recent years: the last decade has seen four high-rise projects materialise: Harbour Village, the Waterstadtoren (water city tower), Scheepmakerstoren (shipbuilders tower) and The Red Apple, a residential development comprising 231 apartments. Together they account for 631 apartments. Opposite Wijnhaven Island, the 100Hoog resi tower – measuring, as its name suggests, more than 100 metres – was completed by developers AM and LSI in 2013 and comprises 152 private-sector apartments.
Other planned projects to meet the demand for residential space include the 100-metre UpTown complex being built by Stebru and HD Group. Bouwinvest has signed up for the 151 private-sector rental apartments while all 28 owner-occupied units have already been sold off-plan. The 34-storey building is due for completion in mid-2019. Other schemes being built adjacent to Wijnhaven Island include Bright (600 student housing units and studio apartments), also being developed by Stebru, The Muse (94 apartments being developed by Wilma), Terraced Tower (344 apartments, Provast) and another 4 projects which are still in the research phase. If all plans come to fruition, they will add another 1,900 apartments to this part of Rotterdam centre.
Cooltower and Baan Tower
Zoning plans for other parts of the city allow for the construction of six residential towers each measuring 150 metres in height, but stricter planning regulations mean not all these projects may be realised. Developer UVastgoed has purchased a number of buildings in the Baan quarter and is already working on the 150-metre Cooltower, in which CBRE Global Investors has acquired 180 rental apartments (out of a total 280 apartments) for its CBRE Dutch Residential Fund. Another spectacular project is the slender Baan Tower being developed by Being Developed, Martens Aannemingsbedrijf and Red Company, which will also measure 150 metres in height and comprise 145 rental and private-sector apartments.
The developers currently active in the centre of Rotterdam are different to those that dominated the scene before the credit crisis. New legislation means that housing corporations like Havensteder have to focus on social housing rather than private-sector residential and other commercial real estate projects, opening the way for new players to step in. Stebru, Being Development and Red Company are all relative newcomers to the Rotterdam development scene, while major developers with a strong track record like BPD and Synchroon are also active. The flourishing residential market offers a host of development opportunities; whether the 300-metre barrier is breached remains to be seen, but if it happens anywhere in the Netherlands, it will be in Rotterdam.
