Henri Kox, Luxembourg's Minister of Housing;
Credit: MLOG
Luxembourg's Ministry of Housing has presented details of the “Wunne mat der Wooltz” real estate project in Wiltz, in northern Luxembourg.
The project will see the construction of a new district accommodating more than 2,000 residents; the town is already home to around 7,000 people at present.
The “Wunne mat der Wooltz” site, located in the valley between Oberwiltz and Niederwiltz, covers an area of 25.5 hectares and is mainly located on the industrial wasteland of “Tarkett (Eurofloor)”, the former "Baumaself" site and the "Geetz" locality.
The project has a total of seven special development plans (plan d'aménagement particulier – PAP), of which the first three (providing for the creation of 401 housing units) are covered by €286 million in state aid. The development of at total of 872 housing units is in the pipeline, including 833 housing units to be built by the public developer the Housing Fund (Fonds du logement). 70% of housing will be for affordable rental and 30% for subsidised sale.
Background
The question of the future development of industrial wasteland in Wiltz has been discussed for the past 20 years. As the complexity of the project and the exceptional scope of the sanitation measures to be deployed cannot be assumed by the municipal administration alone, the government has been involved in studies and preparatory work for more than ten years.
In 2012, the Housing Fund acquired the first land on the site. In 2016, the HSA office submitted the master plan for the “Wunne mat der Wooltz” project, following close collaboration between the design office, the various interministerial stakeholders, the town of Wiltz and the Housing Fund. Two years later, the Housing Fund received ministerial approval for the first three of seven PAPs provided for in the master plan.
As with most larger housing projects, the Housing Fund has planned the successive implementation of these seven PAPs. According to the latest planning from the Housing Fund, the “Wunne mat der Wooltz” project is expected to take at least fifteen years to be finalised.
Sustainability
The project was designed according to strong principles of sustainability and cohabitation. The following four aspects were taken into account: solidarity and shared economy; an energy concept; urban planning and architecture; waste management.
Financing
The total financial participation of the state has been estimated at nearly €286 million and is spread over two financing bills. The budget envelope of €126.5 million of the first bill covers the costs of soil remediation, site upgrading and the renaturation of the River Wiltz. The costs covered by this bill are borne entirely by the state. In addition, the budget envelope of €159.5 million of the second bill covers the costs of servicing and building housing for three PAPs: “Q2 Geetz”, “Q5 Gierwerei” and “Q7 Nordhang”. The costs covered by this bill are subsidised by the Ministry of Housing, in accordance with the amended law of 25 February 1979.
Luxembourg's Minister of Housing Henri Kox commented: “'Wunne mat der Wooltz' is in several respects an exemplary and innovative project: by its size, by the industrial past of the site and its reconversion, by the importance given to the quality of life. I also note the excellent collaboration between the state, the municipality and the public developer according to the principles promoted by the Housing Pact 2.0". The minister added that he considered "Wunne mat der Wooltz" to be "an essential project to increase the supply of public, affordable and sustainable housing which is currently lacking".
