OKay Drongen, shopping and living under one (green) roof

The municipality of Drongen presents many pluses for operating a successful store. Good accessibility, a diverse population and enough passers-by make it a very attractive region. Instead of renting a store, we consciously chose to build a new construction under our own management. Above the store, there will be 3 rental apartments in combination with a green roof.

Expansion manager Nicolas Dewaele explains the project in more detail.

New building under own management
Eye for traffic safety
Environmentally-friendly shopping

In figures

600 m²

surface

3

spaces for tenants

30

parking spaces for cyclists

Successful search

Thanks to a tip from a real estate agent, we managed to find a suitable site near a busy roundabout. Even though the land of the existing multi-brand garage Drongen Motors turned out not to be big enough for a 600 m² store with sufficient parking space, we nevertheless chose to take over this company. Buying an adjacent villa was the ideal solution to expand the site.

Project under own management

Above the shop, we fully equipped three rental apartments. Because this is a small-scale project, we keep the management in our own hands. We can also offer each tenant their own parking space, without compromising too much on the store car park. The neighbours have also been considered. Additional fencing, strategically placed greenery and standard trees guarantee more privacy. To avoid noise nuisance, we covered the unloading quay.

Accessibility

Accessibility and visibility are the store's two major assets. Customers find everything they need to do their daily shopping fast, inexpensive and convenient. Because it is close to the village centre, locals will more easily come to the store by bike. We also provide a spacious bicycle parking and a separate bicycle lane for safer traffic. The proximity of the Ghent inner ring road, an industrial area and an access road to the motorway make the store a convenient stopover for commuters. In a first plan, we planned the entrance closer to the roundabout. After consultation with the city of Ghent, we decide to move the entrance further away to avoid possible traffic jams.

Environmentally-friendly shopping

The neighbourhood supermarket is one of the latest-generation OKay stores with a fresh, modern design. The refrigeration system runs on propane, a natural refrigerant that is much more environmentally-friendly than synthetic alternatives. This reduces CO₂ emissions by 90 % compared to conventional cooling systems. The heat released from the cooling system is recovered to heat the store. In addition to a separate charging point for electric cars in the car park,the green roof purifies the air and improves biodiversity.

The process

November 2018: acquisition Drongen Motors

October 2019: purchase adjacent property

May 2021: start of construction works

January 2022: store opening