The plots concerned are K and L2, located between the buildings Crossover and The Newton on one side and the Kleine Wetering watercourse on the other. The plots will later be used to build housing, offices and amenities. Construction work was set to start on plot K in around 2027, followed a year later by plot L2. However, pressure on the electricity grid (‘grid congestion’) means that the construction schedule will probably be delayed by several years. In order to bridge the time gap, the site is being given a major makeover. This relandscaping will begin on Monday, 14 April and is expected to take until Friday, 30 May.
Diversion for cyclists and pedestrians
While the work is underway, we will close the existing cycle path and footpath. Cyclists will be diverted locally via Gaasterlandstraat and Rozenoordpad, pedestrians via Gaasterlandstraat only. The path can be used outside working hours. The works will not cause any noise disruption and will be done during working hours and outside of peak periods.
Recreation, sport and play
As many as 675 local residents and interested parties gave their views on the temporary landscaping in late 2023. A lot of people wanted space for recreation, sport and play. At a physical meeting held in April 2024, local residents then made a choice between two designs. Based on that, we will now set to work installing playground equipment, a panna football pitch, a boules court and vegetable plot planters.
Pleasant green place to meet
Local residents already have a vegetable plot on the site. Lots more plants are now set to be added. These include several Amelanchier trees (shadbush) and a wide variety of plants and flowers, ensuring that there will always be colour throughout the flowering season from May to November. Designer Alessandro Solci: ‘It will be a colourful meeting place, where everyone is welcome. We intend to achieve this by planting up the undeveloped field with flower meadows and shrubs and installing seating and picnic tables in different places. This will make it a great place for the neighbourhood to enjoy.’
Reuse and design changes
For the temporary landscaping, we are reusing materials from other parts of Zuidas as far as possible, such as picnic tables, seating, playground equipment and rubbish bins. The table tennis table and flower planters that we used for the temporary landscaping of a plot in Fred. Roeskestraat will also be moved to Kop Zuidas. There have also been some minor changes to the design. We will now be placing fencing around the playground equipment, enabling children to play safely – this is already an area where dogs are allowed off leash, and this will remain the case. In addition, sports lovers will have to wait a while for a calisthenics facility, as we are still attempting to find the budget for that. However, a position has been set aside for it in the design.
Tree campsite
We are also eager to add a tree campsite to the area, similar to the one at the Minervahaven. This is intended for trees that need to be accommodated temporarily, such as the trees currently on the Amsterdam canal sides that are set to be renovated. These cannot be cut down and may be given temporary ‘lodging’ in Zuidas in large tree containers, so that they can be put back into position at a later stage. We are still investigating the option of setting up this kind of tree campsite.
Housing, offices and amenities
On plot K, the plan is ultimately for a building with offices, amenities and space for an incubator. Plot L2 will be a residential building with around 300 homes. Although we are eager to develop the plots, congestion on the electricity grid means that development will probably not happen for several years. This is why we are adding attractive temporary landscaping that can last a long time.
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