Antoine de Borman, director of perspective.brussels, was the guest of the 12:30 news this Tuesday. He returned to the assessment drawn up by the new observatory of urban functions of his organization and the still very present need to build housing in the capital.
800,000 m² is the total area for which planning permission was granted in the Brussels region between 2021 and 2022. Of these permits, 460,000 m² concerned housing, or around 4,600 homes. A scale that is repeated almost every year.Compared to the needs of the Brussels population, this is significant. But it does not disrupt the housing market.”Antoine de Borman tells us.
These figures have been increasing between 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, a period marked by the covid-19 crisis. So, did the files take longer to be studied? Did the crisis delay the launch of the projects? The director of perspective.brussels explains that “The permits granted in 2021-2022 were for projects that were often prepared well in advance. And these are long-term projects that, for the most part, will only see the light of day this year or next year. It is therefore difficult to consider a determining impact of covid“.
Housing remains the most sought-after function by real estate developers today. New construction or rehabilitation of old offices, for example? Antoine de Borman says it’s both.There are new constructions, on the Anderlecht side, for example, along the canal. And the conversion of offices, we see a lot of that in the second ring, in areas like Evere and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. There is this dynamic and we are also seeing a decline in the office function.”
■ An interview with Antoine de Borman, by Vanessa Lhuillier
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