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Many commercial projects have flourished on the pedestrian in Brussels, accused of killing businesses when it was launched by Yvan Mayeur five years ago.
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The succession of bands of blue stone and white concrete forms a large mineral expanse that pedestrians are still hurrying to cross for the time being, lack of animation and shade when it is hot. The citizens’ request for greening was heard by Beliris, who recently announced the plantation of around twenty additional trees on Place De Brouckère. Five years after the closure to automobile traffic, the moulting of the great boulevards of the center is about to be completed. Fountains must be placed in rue Auguste Orts, opposite the Stock Exchange, the area at the bottom of the stairs still needs to be developed.
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For the record, the works could not have started before January 2017 due in particular to a sterile conflict between the City of Brussels and Beliris. During this floating period, remedies have multiplied against the pedestrian who seemed to crystallize alone all the ills of the city. The finishing of the first zone in April 2018 marked a turning point in terms of membership. “We observed a notable difference in the reactions of visitors who were finally able to project themselves, as when we visit a witness apartment. After that, we no longer had as much need to defend the project on social networks because the citizens took care of it themselves, “remembers Marianne Hiernaux, spokesperson for Beliris, which invested 21.8 million in the project.
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“We were discovering epidermal reactions at the time on social networks and we had not yet learned to put things into perspective”, judge with hindsight the initiator of the project, Yvan Mayeur. Saying he is very satisfied with the overall result today, the former socialist bourgmestre of the City only expresses regret: “The college did not continue the negotiations started with Anish Kapoor for the installation of a masterpiece at De Brouckère.” For the rest, he judges the project faithful to what had been planned by his teams with the aim of reviving the heart of the city. “Unparalleled investments followed exactly as I had promised. I was not a soothsayer, but we knew for example that the strategic decision to move the administrative center to Parking 58 was going to free up space on Boulevard Anspach . “
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“Unparalleled investments followed exactly as I had promised. I was not a soothsayer, but we knew for example that the strategic decision to move the administrative center to Parking 58 was going to free up space on Boulevard Anspach . ”
Yvan Mayeur
Former mayor of the City of Brussels
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Even at the height of the controversy, Serge Fautré says he has never doubted the benefits of pedestrianization, which is part of a fundamental trend on a European scale. “However, I have always regretted the lack of dialogue. Public opinion condemned the method, not the idea“, analyzes the CEO of AG Real Estate, which estimates investments in the area at nearly one billion euros. Already owner of City 2, his group, currently in the process of Brucity, the new administrative center, is also behind the revitalization of the Anspach Gallery and the complete transformation of the dismal Center Monnaie with The Mint.
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Eataly, the master stroke
On the shelves of large investments, let us quote the work in progress in the ex-Tour Philips renamed Multi Tower by Whitewood-Immobel who is also in charge of Citizen, a mixed complex project housing housing, offices and a hotel on the floors of The Mint. The commercial project Crystal City has also demonstrated the attractiveness of pedestrians by attracting new products. “Wagamama and Burger King, these are two Brussels firsts”, argues the alderman of Commerce Fabian Maingain (DéFI) who recalls that the City still has a good card to play with the Continental. Topped by the Coca-Cola brand, the old hotel will soon be deserted by the Land Management, leaving up to 8,000 m² of residential and commercial possibilities with a view overlooking the entire artery.
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“It was a question of vision and intuition to invest in it, but not everyone has the opportunity to see what is happening abroad.”
Johan Vandendriessche
PDG de VDD Project Development
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Even its competitors welcome the flair of the boss of VDD Project Development who has concluded a exclusive agreement for Belgium and Luxembourg with Eataly. Recently present in the Marais in Paris, the temple of Italian gastronomy will take up residence at the corner of the Place de la Bourse, by 2023. “The pedestrian is a great success even if at first people were dissatisfied because that we shake up their habits. It was a question of vision and intuition to invest in it but not everyone has the opportunity to see what is happening abroad “, recognizes Johan Vandendriessche who hopes to obtain permits in 2020. Renamed The Dome, the former headquarters of Actiris will also host apartments and coworking spaces. Ultimately, its rooftop with vegetable gardens will face that of the Stock Exchange, a future pole of attraction with the creation of the Belgium Beer World, a 13,000 m² space dedicated to Belgian brewing culture.
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The pedestrian zone is not coveted only by large investors. The Brussels agency for business support (hub.brussels) notes in particular the arrival on the boulevard of the young bicycle dealer Velofixer while new horeca brands are regularly appearing in the neighborhood. After Balls&Glory, Manhattn’s Burger and Bobbi Bao, this is the Saint-Gilles artisanal chip shop Potatoes which will soon be installed on the edges of the Stock Exchange.
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Le modèle de la la walk
Seated at a stock exchange cafe, Philippe Van Parijs makes no secret of the joy felt to see this space definitively freed from cars, eight years after its “Picnic the Streets” carte blanche in Le Soir calling for civil disobedience by settling down every Sunday at noon on the boulevard for a giant picnic. “Initially, Freddy Thielemans told us that it was not authorized and that he would send the police. But there were thousands of participants and pedestrianization became one of the issues in the municipal elections,” says the philosopher who remembers his meeting with Yvan Mayeur in the summer of 2012. “At the time, his idea was to make Place De Brouckère a Brussels Times Square. My model was rather the Italian passeggiata where you put your beautiful clothes to go for a stroll. It seemed to make him much more tilt than at Thielemans! “
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“Initially, Freddy Thielemans told us that it was not authorized and that he would send the police. But there were thousands of participants and pedestrianization became one of the issues in the municipal elections.”
Philippe From Paris
Philosopher
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The health crisis did not change his convictions of the time: the future of the planet will pass through city centers with ever more expensive and more restricted private spaces. “This makes it all the more important to have a quality public space designed primarily as a place of sustainable mobility and a pleasant place of stillness where you can meet, let your children wanderPhilippe Van Parijs.
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Randomly or not, there is a 7% increase in residents in the hypercentre in five years according to figures provided by the cabinet of bourgmestre Philippe Close (PS). “After falling, the additional personal income tax is stable, demonstrating the ability to attract middle-class Brussels residents again,” said municipal councilor David Weytsman (MR). After initiating the project alongside the socialists, the Liberals maintain from the opposition benches that the change is positive even if there have been mistakes. With some reservations about the management of this public space. “There are still security problems at certain times and cleanliness ups and downs. And it is a shame not to use land management to have a business planning strategy.”
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“There are still security issues at certain times and cleanliness ups and downs. And it is a shame not to use land management to have a business planning strategy.”
