“The sports museum was an opportunity for the turbine hall in the new Rout Lëns district in Esch-sur-Alzette. In the future, there will be other opportunities”, said Sandra Huber, managing director of IKO Real Estate, the hall’s owner, in an interview with RTL on Wednesday. What legal course the sports museum case may now take will depend on a legal opinion commissioned by the government.
The controversial sports museum project was withdrawn amid numerous doubts over whether the Ministry of Sports had followed the correct procedures.
IKO declined to comment further on the matter. Sandra Huber referred to “aléas” and “imprévus”, noting that the company is used to managing such situations. She described the sports museum as an opportunity and said IKO does not regret having explored the project. There is currently no concrete plan for the turbine hall, but this is also the case for the wind hall. The future use of both buildings will be aligned with the overall development plans for the Rout Lëns district.
IKO’s director of planning and infrastructure, Aline Picard, explained that studies would now have to done “from scratch”. She said the company “might” return to its original idea of integrating office spaces into the turbine hall. As for the sports museum itself, she did not wish to discuss the “controversy”. All she added was that the ministry had provided a specification outlining its needs, and after two years of studies, IKO was able to confirm that the building was suitable for a museum project. “We respected what we were asked to do”, Aline Picard said.
IKO is nevertheless satisfied with the progress of the Rout Lëns project. The first phase of the infrastructure, including water, electricity and postal services, is expected to be completed by the 2028 academic year with the new school also scheduled to be finished and operational. The first 200 homes, out of a total of 1,428, could be ready by the end of this year or the beginning of next. Development of the neighbourhood will proceed from west to east. When asked when the entire district would be completed, Aline Picard laughed and suggested: “2035?”
So far, the authorisation process has moved exceptionally quickly. Rout Lëns was described as a “Covid project”, with Picard explaining that during the pandemic, administrative schedules were less full. In addition, the project received support both from the involved institutions and from local residents during the consultation phases.
Financing for the new district, which covers just over one square kilometre, is also progressing well. Picard welcomed the fact that this was made possible in part thanks to the municipality of Esch-sur-Alzette, which purchased 30% of the quarter for affordable housing. Individual buildings will include a mix of affordable and private-market flats.
In the case of such housing projects,generally need to have sold a certain percentage of the future accommodations to secure financing from banks and insurers for construction.
The developer is seeking an operator for the Magasin TT project, a former warehouse in Rout Lëns that is set to be transformed into a meeting place. The project includes a 550-square-metre brasserie with a 200-square-metre terrace, which is expected to be ready later this year.
“Today we are challenging the public to see what concepts or visions could be brought to the Magasin TT”, said Nadia Djanadi, Commercial Director for Office and Retail at IKO. When asked about IKO’s preferences, she encouraged applicants to open their minds. From the developer’s perspective, food and drink play a key role in bringing people together.
“What we want is a long-term partnership” with an operator who “can invest well financially”. IKO’s main shareholder, Eric Lux, was not present at the presentation.
