march-2012

PHOTOS © HOLLANDSE HOOGTE/KLASS FOPMA, LUC HARINGS
PROPERTY | AMSTERDAM
new 6,300m 2 premises at Overhoeks,
represents the cherry on the cultural
cake for Noord native Adri Doorneveld,
who works as a tourist advisor for the
local government. “When I was a child,
the only cinema in Noord closed down
and I was devastated,” he says. “Now
we’re going to be home to the national
institute of fi lm, itself housing four
state-of-the-art cinemas. Now that’s
what I call regeneration.”
Overhoeks is an entirely new
live-work development on the section of
the Noord waterfront that was formerly home to the
Shell corporation’s Dutch headquarters. Two-bedroom
penthouse apartments in the De Europa building here
are currently being touted for €428,000 and up, but
local estate agent Babette Peters, of Peters-de Jong
(petersdejong.nl), says that there are still bargains
to be had at the lower end of what she describes as
Noord’s “vibrant and fast-moving” property market.
Particularly for those with a little imagination. “‘Near
to the NDSM wharf, the local government is selling
140m 2 plots of land for €100,000 if you submit a
suffi ciently creative house design,” she says, adding
that the area is particularly good for families. “They
can get so much more space for their money here.
For €175,000, you can buy a really lovely split-level
apartment in the up-and-coming Van der Pekbuurt.”
This is a neighbourhood of low-rise garden
dwellings, designed to house shipyard workers in
the last century, and it’s where Niels Wouters – the
96 | TRAVELLER
Above, even litter
bins get the love
in Noord
Buikslotermeerplein
shopping centre in
Amersterdam Noord is
still in the process of
being glammed up
easyJet fl ies to...
NEW PROPERTY
HOTSPOTS
Every March, Cannes hosts the biggest
fi xture in the property calendar. At MIPIM,
deals are made that can defi ne the
real-estate landscape for the year ahead.
Here, Peter Rhodes OBE, managing director
of Reed MIDEM UK, reveals where in the
network the big projects are taking place.
ISTANBUL THE SYMBOL
DEVELOPMENT
This eye-popping 42-storey complex in
the Esenyurt district will include 1,242
apartments, squash courts and a cinema.
AMSTERDAM
UTRECHT STATION AREA
The project to revitalise Utrecht city centre,
25 minutes from the capital by train,
includes a music palace, a new library and
250,000m² of new offi ce space.
man whose wildly successful Hotel de Goudfazant
(hoteldegoudfazant.nl) started the trend for Noord
warehouse dining – is opening a new venture this
summer. “I think the local government is really
encouraging entrepreneurship,” he says. “There are
so many possibilities here compared to the centre
of Amsterdam, which is a heritage site with lots of
planning restrictions.” Situated in a former bank
building, his planned Café Modern will be a laid-back
eaterie featuring guest bedrooms as well as sofas.
Does this mean Noord is bracing itself for an infl ux
of tourists? Those seeking hot clubs and cool art over,
or perhaps as well as, Rembrandts and canals?
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” says Wouters. “When I
opened a restaurant in Noord in 2006, my friends
thought I’d gone mad. Now it’s perfectly normal for
Amsterdammers to catch a ferry over here just to eat.”
For the record, there will be additional transit when
the much-delayed Noord/Zuid metro line eventually
comes into being (current estimates stand at 2017).
Harings, meanwhile, resplendent in the ilovenoord
merchandise he sells via his website, has something
of the demeanour of a long-term music devotee who
fi nds himself torn between basking in the mainstream
acclaim of his idol and resenting the newcomers who
are only now getting in on the act. “The city had
its back turned on us for so long,” he says. “Now it’s
knocking down our door, desperate to join the party.”
Amsterdam from 17 destinations. See our insider
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