Jan De Nul Group, projectontwikkeling, Rijmenam Dijledonk

The Dijledonk project presents tomorrow’s Dijle valley

The information market on 3 June will present the ambitions for the former Meurop site in Rijmenam (Bonheiden).

Project developers COGIVA and PSR have worked out a vision for redeveloping the former Meurop site, in consultation with the local council of Bonheiden and the relevant public authorities, into a new lively and accessible rural residential estate alongside the Dijle. To present their vision on the redevelopment of this area, the project developers organise a public information market on Monday evening, 3 June.

This information market will take place in the buildings of the former furniture factory Meurop, which closed its doors in 1980, after which the premises were left abandoned for many years. Local residents and other interested parties can visit the information market between 6 and 9 pm and ask their questions to representatives of the relevant stakeholders.  

The Dijledonk project presents tomorrow’s Dijle valley

The plans to redevelop this former industrial site, located between the Oude Keerbergslaan and the Dijle valley, were drafted in 2006 when the local council of Bonheiden unfolded its new zoning plan. Based on these plans, CoGIVa and PSR put their master vision for the site on paper in 2018, assisted by the design office OMGEVING. The Dijledonk project was born.

During the information market, visitors will have the scoop of their ambitions for the area development project Dijledonk by way of thematic information stands. The ambition of this vision for the future is softening, opening up and upgrading the derelict concrete interface between the Oude Keerbergsebaan and the Dijle.

Dijledonk should become a new lively and accessible rural district along the waterside in Rijmenam, where leisure activities, housing, working and living together will go hand in hand.  

Progressing through an integrated approach

The realisation of Dijledonk will be done in phases. This information and consultation market for the local residents is an important step forward towards a final master plan, the drafting of a spatial implementation plan (SIP) and the remediation of certain historically contaminated sections of the site.

Paul Cordier, Managing Partner CoGiVa: “We experience that this project is very much welcomed in Bonheiden. We are eager to move on in close consultation with all parties involved.”

Johan Geeroms, Managing Director PSR: “Dijledonk will bring new life to the former Meurop site, it will be a better place for everyone.”

Practical information for local residents and other interested parties:

Information market on Monday, 3 June 2019.
Free entrance between 6 and 9 pm.
Entrance via former Meurop buildings: Oude Keerbergsebaan 8-10 in Rijmenam (Bonheiden). 

About Dijledonk

Alongside the meandering Dijle, a vibrant residential area awakens. At this location with a rich history, a former furniture factory makes way for a warm home. The location offers green spots and water and – more important still – space to live life to the fullest, at your own pace. Rippling or flowing? Just drifting with the flow or really diving into it? Living, working and relaxing in the Dijle valley brings something to look forward to every day. Share it with each other, your family, your colleagues and the neighbours. No matter how far your dreams reach, here you have everything at your fingertips. 

About the former Meurop site

The furniture factory Meurop in Rijmenam (in Dutch a contraction of furniture and Europe) was in 1947 a pioneer in affordable design furniture, long before IKEA and many others came up with the same idea. They used compressed wood fibre boards that were given a veneer of plastic. The Meurop furniture was particularly popular in the 1950s and 60s. Today, typical Meurop chairs and cabinets have become coveted vintage. In 1980, amidst the economic recession and oil crisis, Meurop went bankrupt and the buildings were left empty for many years. The former industrial activities have left their marks in the soil and some spots are in need of a thorough remediation. After having acquired the derelict premises in 2018, the private developers PSR and COGIVA set up the joint venture Meurop 2020 for remediating and redeveloping the site towards a mixed destination, which was given the appropriate name ‘Dijledonk’.