Vesteda Podium project residential tower at highest point
After the highest point of the first residential tower was reached at the Podium project in Amersfoort, Vesteda’s second residential tower is now also at its highest point. The residential tower has sixteen floors. Yesterday saw the performance of a special part of the building’s construction, namely the closing of the lift roof. This officially marks the reaching of the highest point of the building. René Tim of Vesteda and Remco Melgert of Heijmans pressed the red button to give the starting signal for the placement of the roof.
Astrid Janssen, Alderman for Housing at the Amersfoort city council: “Reaching the highest point is an important milestone for both our city and its residents. The contours of the project are now taking shape, bringing the completion of the homes closer. This is also true of the Podium residential district, where we hope people will enjoy living, working and studying for years to come.”
Mid-rental segment homes
Vesteda’s apartment complex is part of the Podium project, which consists of 440 new homes, both houses and apartments. In total, Vesteda’s residential tower will contain 68 apartments with average floorspace of 76 m2. These are located in a slender tower at the head of the complex, right next to Amersfoort Vathorst NS railway station. Completion of the complex is expected at the end of this year.
“The Podium project is a good addition to Vesteda’s portfolio for several reasons. In this project, we are realising sustainable homes in an easily accessible location that are financially accessible to a wide range of households due to the mix of social, mid-rental and liberalised rental units. Moreover, Klunder’s design is a wonderful reference to an iconic building. Thanks to this combination, I’m convinced that this will be a pleasant place to live,” says René Tim, Head of Acquisitions & Development at Vesteda.
Space for meeting others
The design of Vesteda’s apartment complex takes into account the creation of social cohesion between residents. This is why the second floor will include a communal courtyard garden where there will be room for residents to meet each other.
“Our entire team has worked hard to realise the sixteen layers of the residential tower. With this special act, we are putting the icing on the cake. Now we can move on to the finishing of the facade and interior work, so the new tenants can receive their keys at the end of the year. They will soon have a beautiful view of the station and the green surroundings that will be created,” explains Remco Melgert, Director of Residential Building at Heijmans in Amersfoort.
195 new homes in phase 1
Phase 1 of Podium consists of a residential building for Vesteda (68 mid-rental apartments), a residential building for housing corporation de Alliantie (68 social rental apartments) and 59 owner-occupied apartments. Under the shared courtyard garden is a parking garage with 179 parking spaces, with 68 of these parking spaces earmarked for Vesteda’s residential tower residents. Once phase 1 is completed, construction of Podium phase 2 will continue. Heijmans will connect all the homes in project Podium to a single large thermal energy exchange system (ATES), consisting of a heat and/cold source for heating and cooling.
Sustainable living
Podium will have two prominent green spaces: the Common Green and the Landscape Zone. The Common Green will run like a green zone through the neighbourhood. This will soon be an accessible park with grass, flower beds, trees, hedges, seating areas and semi-paved paths. The plan for the Landscape Zone on the northeast side of the project is a mudflat landscape with an important role in terms of water storage and plenty of attention for ecology and nature. Thanks to its height differences and natural play elements, residents will have a wonderful place for children to play and gambol.
