SSH& and the municipality of Nijmegen are cooperatively going to build around two hundred student houses on the site where the GGD is currently located. There will be individual units, as well as houses with communal areas.

Between 192 and 198 students houses are to be built at a site along the Groenewoudseweg, on the corner of the Professor Bellefroidstraat, where the GGD Gelderland-Zuid (Dutch municipal health services, ed) is currently located. Divided into three buildings of each around three to four storeys tall. Seventy percent of those will be individual housing units, thirty percent will consist of student rooms with shared kitchens and bathrooms. SSH& will rent out the rooms.

There are no official plans yet, says managing director Kees Stunnenberg of student housing provider SSH&. Last week, the municipality of Nijmegen and SSH& signed the purchase agreement of the plot of land. ‘The current sketches are early designs, a lot can still change. Broadly speaking, this is what we have in mind.’

CO2 neutral

The plan is for the new buildings to be gas-free. A while ago, the Tilde complex, situated at the Van Nispenstraat, was taken off the gas network. Only electricity is being used by residents there. SSH& complex Sterrenbosch, situated on campus, will be connected to the heating system of Radboud University. In an earlier interview with Vox, Stunnenberg said that the goal was to have all housing complexes be completely CO2 neutral by 2045. In what way that will be achieved for the new buildings, is still unclear.

It might be a while before students can actually live at the new location on the Groenewoudseweg. Construction will not start for a while. The GGD, currently situated in the building, first needs to move to a building at the Professor Bellefroidstraat, which is still to be built. Stunnenberg expects this to be completed at the start of 2025, after which the demolition can begin. At the end of 2026, the new buildings should be completed.

‘By mutual agreement, we decided to reduce the number of homes’

The new buildings will be constructed in consultation with the neighbourhood, Stunnenberg assures. Local residents previously expressed strong criticism of the plans. According the them, the neighbourhood was already overcrowded with student housing complexes, which would make the roads too busy. Residents preferred starter homes to be built.

More individual housing units

Although the plans will be carried out, the SSH& director says that some necessary adjustments were made. ‘By mutual agreement with the neighbourhood, the number of units were brought down from 220 to a maximum of 198. The buildings will also be less tall than we previously wanted. No five to six storeys, but three or four.’

‘In addition, more individual units will be built instead of rooms with communal areas, at the request of local residents. The final plan will also not include any balconies or galleries facing the Groenewoudseweg or Professor Bellefroidstraat, in order to reduce possible nuisance. And the small park we wanted to create between the buildings will be sealed off, so it cannot be used as a passageway.’

Translated by Jan Scholten.