Innovation, Business and New Development
Once the Southern Docks fell into disuse (see above) the attraction of the area as a location for industrial and semi-industrial activities declined. This combined with strict zoning laws resulted in virtually all the many small workshops and warehousing operations around the docks and elsewhere in the area having to shut down or relocate.
Apart from existing attractions such as the inherently good housing stock and agreeable street plan, an important factor in reestablishing the elan of the district has been the availability of land for development. This has come from the demolition or conversion of industrial and semi-industrial buildings, the abandonment and/or redevelopment of buildings such as the former Hippodrome, and the demolition of the South Station. But although much has been promised no final decision on the derelict marshalling yards on the southern edge of the district has yet been taken.
At present the district is served by a single supermarket on the ground floor of the redeveloped Hippodrome site. The most spectacular new development so far though is the large law courts complex on the former South Station site. This award-winning project, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership in association with VKStudio and Ove Arup & Partners, opened in 2007.
The presence of this new complex has encouraged lawyers, and various support services to seek premises nearby. Finally, a number of IT start-ups have been attracted by the area's fashionable image in recent years. Whether the trading atmosphere will prove to be congenial in the longer term remains to be seen.
Read more about this topic: Zuid (Antwerp)
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