For its Forest site, the management of the Audi group has not found a buyer. The factory will therefore close its doors at the end of February. A question then arises: what to do now with this immense industrial zone?
It is a gigantic industrial site, frequented by thousands of employees. Over the decades, social conflicts have continued on site.
What to do with the Audi factory, located in Forest? With an area representing 15% of the area of the municipality, this space nevertheless has many advantages. This is, in any case, the opinion of Antoine de Borman, director of a center which analyzes the future of the Brussels territory.
“At Audi, we are on a site which is today purely industrial. It is connected to the road and the rail network. It is no coincidence that Audi had established its activities here. It is because the site is particularly well connected and conducive to industrial activity,” he explains.
For this site, many possibilities are possible, but few seem realistic. Could we accommodate a new large company or even an amusement park? It seems that the hypothesis of a single buyer has now been ruled out. Another option: build a football stadium there. However, this would pose a problem, because this type of project would generate too few jobs.
And why not social housing buildings? In addition, around 50,000 households are on the waiting list to obtain one in Brussels.
But for the moment, urban plans prohibit the construction of homes.
For the moment, the authorities are favoring one option: dividing the site into several plots, with a whole series of industrialists. Entrepreneurs are already interested, but the site will have to be cleaned up. And for the moment, it is impossible to assess the cost. Note that it is Audi, owner of the place, which will have to pay the bill.
“Cleaning up pollution is important. Here, the principle is that whoever leaves the site is responsible for its decontamination. We may start by reusing certain buildings while decontaminating a plot of land. Then, we install a new activity there, then we decontaminate the next plot and we establish a new activity there.specifies Pierre Hermant, general director of Finance&Invest.Brussels.
There are already examples of industrial reconversion in Brussels, such as that of Tour et Taxis. Formerly a railway site, it was decommissioned in the late 1980s, before conversion work began. Today, the site has been transformed, with a multitude of activities, whether commerce, housing or even exhibitions.
You should know that when the authorities look at the reconversion of an industrial site, they receive advice from the capital’s master architect. We asked him for his opinion on the Forest factory.
“(…) Change is always a good thing, because it is an opportunity for improvement. And there, I have a lot of confidence. It is a site with many assets which could develop into a new district for Brussels.”explains Kristiaan Borret, master architect.
What will be the future of this immense automobile factory? It may be years before we know. The Caterpillar site in Gosselies, for example, is still deserted… eight years after the company closed.
audi forest industrial site
