Shops, apartments, a square and a park as a meeting point at the Leesten new residential area
On 6 September 2007, developer Multi Vastgoed opened the Leesten shopping centre in Zutphen with 3,000 m² of retail, food outlets and amenities, as well as 58 apartments, both available to buy or to rent. Featuring a large Super de Boer supermarket, shops such as Marskramer, a DA chemist, an Echte Bakker bakery and a flower shop, this new centre is principally geared to the daily needs of shoppers. With its enclosed central square, waterside food court, and surrounding park and houses, this new area of Zutphen will be getting a well-deserved central meeting point.
The residents of this new residential area (which is currently home to around 7,600 people) have been looking forward to a proper and well-equipped central area for a long time. Construction of the Leesten estate started in the early nineties and by now more than two thirds of the 3,700 houses have been completed. The shopping centre lies at the intersection of the already completed Leesten-West part and the new Leesten-East part, the development of which is currently in full swing. Once the estate has been completed in 2015, some 10,000 inhabitants and numerous other visitors from the nearby N314 main road are expected to make use of the centre. In 2005, Multi Vastgoed and the community of Zutphen started planning the development and barely two years on, the shopping centre is complete. Total investments in shops, housing and public spaces runs into the region of € 20 million.
Councillor Rik de Lange is delighted with the new shopping centre: ‘You will find a wide range of shops in a central area of the estate. In addition, the centre can be easily reached. The apartments that have been built above the shops constitute a good mix, enabling us to serve different target groups. This kind of mixture of shops and housing also increases the liveliness of the centre. This shopping centre makes the residential area complete. It is the local government’s aim to make sure that the people that live here feel at home and this means that the facilities must be right. Thanks to the excellent level of cooperation, we have succeeded in achieving a splendid shopping centre with housing facilities in a relatively short space of time. This is something that I am really proud of.’
‘In terms of the choice of shops, the needs of the local residents were decisive. We have opted for quality and variety over shops offering a less fitting range of products but with a higher rental income. In this way, a complete and multi-functional centre has been created with such useful services such as a pharmacy, a veterinary practice, cash dispensers and food outlets’, adds Heino Vink, Multi Vastgoed’s retail development director. Multi Vastgoed is famous for its large inner-city development projects, such as the Musiskwartier in Arnhem, the Koopgoot in Rotterdam and the Kalvertoren in Amsterdam. ‘With the Leesten Shopping Centre, we are showing that we can develop attractive, durable and well-designed inner-city and new residential area projects. Our shopping centre has really brought Leesten to life’, says Heino Vink proudly.
Shops
The shopping centre consists of around 3,000 m² of retail space and amenities. The range of shops is varied and offers a combination of nation-wide retail brands and local (franchise) entrepreneurs: Super de Boer, Marskramer, a DA chemist, Fashion House Ter Stal, “Echte Bakker Van der Heijden” bakery, The Read Shop (selling magazines and books, among other things), The Green Room (flowers and plants), and hairdressers Hairstyling Effect. The De Graafschap veterinary surgery and the Escura pharmacy have also opened up in the centre. The shopping centre has a special waterside food court and there is also a branch of the regional chain of Plaza stores. A total of 150 parking spaces are located opposite the stores. An enclosed square includes a terrace with steps leading down to the broadened De Laak waterfront . The shopping centre also fronts onto a neighbouring park. The shops are all owned by Nieuwe Steen Investments, a listed investment company .
Apartments
Above the shops , an attractive residential complex consisting of 58 apartments - 24 are for sale and 34 are for renting - has been built. The ‘Looër Veste’ style apartments that are for sale are distributed across two characteristic 3 and 4 storey buildings, so that they each get maximum exposure to sunlight and enjoy attractive views. The last of these apartments are due to be delivered shortly. The sale of the seven still unsold apartments is being handled by Makelaardij Bieze De Wilde at Rijksstraatweg 130, Warnsveld (telephone 0575-523343). Property company Woningbedrijf Warnsveld is the owner of a Y-shaped building, which houses 34 rental apartments.
Collaboration
The shopping centre was built along the lines of an urban planning concept by T+T Design, the in-house design office of Multi Vastgoed in Gouda, and Kuiper Compagnons of Rotterdam, which was commissioned for the project by the municipality of Zutphen. The rapid development and construction stage was achieved as a result of the close collaboration between the developer, the municipality, and the designers. The architectural design of the shopping centre was created by INBO Architecten. The construction work was carried out by Kuiper Bouwgroep of Arnhem.