Winkelcentrum Vathorst

Before Phase 1 of the Vathorst city district centre was realised, the shops and homes had already been sold to ASR Vastgoed.  

The housing developments in the Vathorst city district were somewhat behind schedule and this also marked the start of the housing construction crisis, causing even more construction plans to be postponed. In short, the scenario STABLE worked out of the shopping centre evolving with the neighbourhood seemed to be a golden opportunity. Instead of building an 18,000m² shopping centre, they now decided to build a centre with a shop surface area of 8,550m² that perfectly aligned with the size of the Vathorst city district. In addition to the 8,550m² of shops, this also included 166 apartments/homes and STABLE was in charge of constructing the entire public space (450 parking spaces), including the public roads in the Vathorst city centre. 

In addition to developing the centre, STABLE was also in charge of leasing all the shops (8,550m²). Leasing the homes was in the hands of third parties. 

In 2009, Phase 1 was completed and 95% of the shops had already been leased in advance. A few big names include Albert Heijn, HEMA, ’t Kruidvat, Blokker and many fresh food businesses. Despite the crisis, Phase 1 of the Centre never had any substantial vacancies. The homes are also almost always leased 100%. This confirms yet again that the concept of Phase 1 has proven to be outstandingly successful.  

The housing crisis had major consequences for the development of the centre of Vathorst. The plans for Phase 2: an ICOON group, comprising a school, library, theatre, gymnasium and various hospitality establishments, the 10,000m² shop expansion and over 100 homes, were seen in a completely different light than before. 

Luckily, construction on the ICOON group was able to start - a development of the City of Amersfoort.  STABLE then came up with an alternative to the master plan that enabled part of Phase 2 to be developed. The new plan for Phase 2 of the centre of Vathorst comprised 3,500m² of shops, 23 apartments and 100 parking spaces. Unfortunately, the City of Amersfoort changed the traffic policy from the original traffic plans, which the design of the master plan was based on. The result was that the road between Phase 1 and Phase 2 was given a different profile and was used for traffic much more intensively. Nevertheless, the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 was structured in such a way as to allow everything to run smoothly. Despite the crisis, over 80% of the shops were leased by STABLE to parties including JUMBO. In 2013, Phase 2 was completed and delivered to ASR Vastgoed.

As Phase 2 deviated a bit from the master plan, STABLE worked closely with Attika Architekten to work out a new concept plan for Phase 3. Phase 3 was about coordinating with the NS train station and the development of a block of buildings right next to ICOON (multifunctional building). Due to the crisis, some changes were then made within BPD and ASR Vastgoed, and as a result STABLE was no longer able to also develop the concept plan for Phase 3. Lidl Vastgoed was then in charge of the development of Phase 3, but it was executed following the concept of STABLE.  

Other subregions in Centrum Vathorst 
A large number of subregions have now been developed following the master plan. As a result, the centre now has many more functions. A church, a primary school, offices, services and medical facilities. The goal of the master plan was to create an attractive centre for the Vathorst city district with room for a bustling centre with its variety of functions in a beautiful, rurally designed whole with well-coordinated architecture. Looking at the centre of Vathorst today will show you that what the master plan strove to achieve has become a reality: a centre that is truly the heart of the city district, one which is ready to continue fulfilling its important role in Vathorst society.