MAB B.V. and the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn signed the Winkelhart Development Contract in the auditorium of the Town Hall, which is currently under construction. The Development Contract contains details of the development of the Winkelhart (shopping centre), located on Hoge Zijde in the city centre of Alphen aan den Rijn.
At the same time, a covenant was signed for the Police Quality Mark for Secure Living with respect to the new apartments to be built in the Winkelhart. The Hollands-Midden Constabulary is party to the covenant. The signing of the contracts with MAB B.V. this afternoon signifies an important milestone in the development of the City Centre plans.
The Winkelhart programme comprises 15,000 m2 for retail and catering and 750 m2 for the Fine Arts Centre. The major anchor for the project is Media Markt, contracted by MAB B.V. for over 4,500 m2. Above these commercial facilities 105 apartments are to be built. The municipality has commissioned MAB B.V. to build a 2-layer underground car park to link up with the Castellum (Town Hall) parking garage. This will eventually provide about 740 public car-parking spaces and about 100 private parking spaces for residents. In addition to this the municipality has commissioned underground bicycle racks for about 500 bicycles. The racks will be accessible via a moving ramp and are intended for all users of the Town Centre.
The future value of the Winkelhart is laid down in quality requirements covering many areas. The requirements relate to the types of shops and catering establishments (diversification), architecture as regards design and use of materials, the way in which commercial signs are put on facades, the positioning of street lighting on buildings, and anti-burglary and fire safety measures. In order to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, at least four large business units will be connected to the central power supply unit located in the new Town Hall.
The actual construction activities commissioned by MAB B.V. will start in December 2002. Completion of the Winkelhart is expected in mid-2005. The aim is to have the municipal Theatre/Cinema project ready by the summer of 2005, together with the public areas to be developed by the municipality.
MAB B.V. and the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn have been working together since 1994. Significant landmarks in their cooperation include the adoption by the council of the Master Plan for the City Centre in 1996 and the Centre zoning plan in 1998. The architects commissioned by MAB B.V., Bob Van Reeth, Herman Zeinstra and Gunnar Daan, developed the plans for Winkelhart within this framework. The development plan has since gone through the usual procedures and building permits have been obtained. The project is situated roughly between the Julianastraat-Noord, the Castellumstraat and the Omloopkanaal behind the Samsomlaan and the Stevinstraat.
The municipality has acquired all the property in the planning area and buildings have been demolished on a grand scale. Those that remain (council offices and the former Rabobank on Julianastraat) will be demolished starting at the end of 2002. Soil decontamination has recently been completed on a smaller scale, as well as an archaeological survey on the site of the Roman Castellum.
(source: MAB)
