Transforming a brownfield site into a mixed-use city centre area
Works on the Wilhelm & Co. project for the town of La Louvière, involving the rehabilitation of a former industrial site right in the city centre, has started. The work to cleanse the site and remove any polluting materials are now complete, and demolition works can be seen on this 15 hectare site, located some 40 km to the south of Brussels. The city of La Louvière has given its approval after a lengthy period of negotiations, and construction itself is set to begin in 2016, with the centre expected to be open at the end of 2018. On the former Royal Boch porcelain site, this major mixed-used project intends to rebuild the complete town centre through the creation of over 38,000 m² of retail space, some 60,000 m² of residential accommodation, and other functions including a cinema complex, a museum (constructed by the public authorities), a company cluster for Dragone Entertainment Group and around 4,000 of offices space.
A substantial amount of green space has been scheduled, and there will be car parking for 1,700 cars. The shopping centre will benefit from a particularly wide catchment zone of almost 400,000 people. It will have direct pedestrian access to the town centre and the new railway station and will also be served by bus routes.Within the framework of this urban regeneration project, a ceramics museum and artists’ workshops will be developed by the city of La Louvière and the Walloon Region.