Colruyt Jourdan combines shopping, living and urban agriculture

Space is scarce in the densely built-up Brussels Jourdan neighbourhood. We therefore seized the opportunity to enrich our extension of the old Colruyt store with housing and public functions. We were very pleased to be able to contribute to sustainable urban renewal in close cooperation with local government.

There are now 37 flats above the shop. A vegetable garden on the back roof of the store brings more green into the city neighbourhood. The new store is also the largest Colruyt low-energy store in Brussels.

Expansion manager Olivier Massin is proud of the added value he created with the team. He tells us more about the major new construction project at Graystraat.

Site with commercial, residential and public functions
Roof garden for research and education purposes
Largest Colruyt low-energy store in Brussels
Joint development with the municipalities of Etterbeek and Elsene, the Brussels Capital Region and public services such as Leefmilieu Brussel
Parking garage on two underground levels
Covered unloading quay

In figures

37

flats

158

parking spaces

2.000 m²

retail area

We have worked together constructively with mutual respect in an open communication

Jurgen De Keyser | Director Construction | Zabra

Sustainable urban development

At the end of 1999, we bought an old police car depot in Etterbeek's Jourdan neighbourhood in which we set up a Colruyt store. With the prospect of a possible expansion of the store in mind, we purchased two adjacent houses in 2010. In 2019, we carried out a far-reaching expansion. We demolished the old building and the houses to make room for the largest Colruyt low-energy store in Brussels. The new complex has 37 low-energy flats above the store on the street side. The residents can enjoy the view of the green roof at the back. Extensive parking is provided on two underground floors.

We realised this ambitious project of sustainable urban development in collaboration with the municipalities of Etterbeek and Elsene, the Brussels Capital Region and public services such as Leefmilieu Brussel. We are very satisfied with this common achievement.

Roof garden as laboratory for urban agriculture

The project offers us a great opportunity to bring more green into the city.

On the roof of the store we built a garden of approximately 2,100 m². This eco-roof is part of the Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract Maalbeek. We put it at the disposal of the municipality of Elsene and ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles - to create an educational and experimental vegetable garden.

The municipality is making the roof garden accessible to the public by organising vocational training courses and guided visits on themes such as urban agriculture, green roofs and hydroponics.

The university, for its part, conducts scientific research there.

A car park to share with the neighbourhood

In order to make optimal use of the space, we opted for an underground car park. The first level is reserved for customers. On the minus two level, customers and residents of the flats share the parking space.

Outside shopping hours, we rent out the car park to local residents.

Electric cars have a number of charging points.

Low-energy store without fossil fuels

With a sales area of 2,000 m², we have enough space to offer our customers the full range of products. This doubling of the size compared to the previous store goes hand in hand with a very environmentally-friendly design.

The building is energy-efficient in all areas: cooling, heating, lighting, ventilation and insulation. We even heat this shop without fossil fuels. We recover the heat produced by our cooling system. This cooling system also uses the greenhouse gas-friendly propane as a cooling agent. With this infrastructure, we reduced the carbon footprint by 99 %.

We also invested in noise reduction. With the construction of a covered unloading quay, the residents experience only limited noise pollution when trucks come to deliver.

Brussels capital, priority no. 1 for Colruyt

In Brussels, in addition to the Etterbeek branch, we also renovated, enlarged and optimised stores in Anderlecht, Schaarbeek and Woluwe.

That way, we invested in the city and can also offer our Brussels customers the best service at the lowest prices.

The process

2001: Opening of first Colruyt store in Etterbeek (900 m²)

2013: Decision to extend and start negotiations with the Brussels-Capital Region and the mayors of Etterbeek and Elsene

2017: Start of site

2019: Opening new store

2020: All flats have been sold