Hart van Zuid is the urban development zone that includes the Ahoy, Zuidplein, and the Motorstraat area. The area has all the potential to grow to become a fully-fledged centre of Rotterdam Zuid. There are schools, a large shopping centre, a metro and bus station, healthcare institutions, and a theatre. All these amenities attract a large number of visitors, and yet the Hart van Zuid still does not have the look and feel of a major urban centre. There is no central place where people find it pleasant to stay and relax for a while. The amenities are already there, but they need to be interconnected and integrated better with each other. The area does not have a focal point that brings together all the local neighbourhoods and all the people who use the area. With the Hart van Zuid, Rotterdam City Council aims to create an urban centre where people can live, work, run businesses, and relax. A meeting point for local residents, businesses, and visitors in the only urban district of the Netherlands where the average age of the population is going down. Over the coming years, the Hart van Zuid will undergo a major transformation, which will deliver an enormous boost to the living, working, and leisure environment. Whether it concerns the construction of new homes to rent or buy, an attractive location climate for businesses, training, welfare, intelligent infrastructure, culture, entertainment, or recreation in the green spaces of the Zuiderpark: the Hart van Zuid will become a magnet for both social and economic development.
Development objectives
Through the expansion of the existing amenities and the development of new facilities, combined with a robust social development program, Rotterdam City Council wants to work together with the private sector to raise the quality of the area in every way: socially, culturally, and economically. The new facilities will include an international convention centre at the Ahoy, a hotel, and a centre for the arts. The introduction of new cafés, bars, and restaurants and the upgrading of the shopping centre will also help to create the look and feel of an urban centre.
The Hart van Zuid will be developed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The City Council has its own vision for the regeneration of the development zone and has set out a number of preconditions. It is asking the private sector to come up with proposals that will meet this vision and these preconditions. A competitive tendering procedure will then be used by Rotterdam City Council to select the private sector party with the best plan for the area.
Collaborative partnerships
The partners of the Hart van Zuid have already shown a great willingness to work together. For example, a number of educational institutions and the Zuidplein Theatre have drawn up joint plans for the creation of a performing arts training centre. Ahoy Rotterdam also signed an agreement for ‘Practical education and training at the Ahoy’ with Zadkine college in late 2009. Zadkine students in the Hospitality and Catering department will now be following a training program here that was developed together with the Ahoy. Other training programs can also be added in the future. For example, security management courses and technical engineering courses. The Business Advice Centre (Ondernemershuis) has a work placement helpdesk that matches students with local businesses. Schools, businesses, and healthcare institutions in the Motorstraat area are all putting forward their own proposals for building development that will see the creation of a training, employment, and healthcare campus.
Read about tendering procedure
Read the ambition document
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