Rotterdam in development

R O T T E R D A M I N D E V E L O P M E N T | 2 0 1 8 27 the Venture Café of the Cambridge Innovation Centre (CIC), and Central Post, a former postal service building where many businesses are now established. The new First office building has been built on the Weena, offering office space to enterprises such as Nauta Dutilh legal firm and Robeco. On the Schiekade, the Schieblock has attracted many young, ambitious businesses and is crowned with a striking ‘roof meadow’ (‘dakakker’), and the former Shell building on the Hofplein has been converted into a hub for offices and meeting space. MORE FLEXIBLE “There are still a lot of transformations to come in the area,” says Kees van Oorschot. A Holiday Inn Express has been established here, the lower Shell building with the blue glass façade on the Schiekade is receiving a makeover, and the office building on the west side of the Kruisplein is being transformed. Jamie Oliver is also opening a restaurant on the Weena, and the Marriott Hotel has moved its restaurant to the ground floor. Jan-Cees Blok: “The area is continuing to improve. You can see a trend: the buildings in the area are increasingly becoming business complexes. Businesses have become more flexible and are less tied to bricks and mortar than they used to be.” The outdoor space continues to cause concern. Kees van Oorschot: “There has been an explosion in the number of bicycles, so we are also including extra bicycle storage in the development of the plans for the two plots.” On the other hand, initiatives have been started to share another form of transport: the car. Jan-Cees Blok: “There is already a company in the Groot Handelsgebouw that specialises in providing cars the tenants can share.”