State | Amsterdam

State as worthy beginning of the new Bay Area

The just-completed State residential tower near Amsterdam's Amstel Station marks the new residential area to be developed along the Weespertrekvaart, including the former Bijlmerbajes. The former derelict industrial site that was once home to the Hells Angels is now emerging as a highly desirable residential area.

"It was a bit of a scary place. Every Amsterdammer knew the area, but preferred not to come there," says Thomas van den Doel, development manager at VORM Ontwikkeling, which managed to realize the iconic building. "From the Amstel Quarter you came here through a dark little tunnel. The Hells Angels had just left, the Bijlmerbajes was still in use and the ground still had to be remediated. You have to be able to see through that, because actually this is a prime location. You can see that now."

Accordingly, the tender for State issued by the City of Amsterdam in 2015 attracted great interest from developers. "We were walking around here with 15 to 20 developers. The competition was murderous," Sander van der Wolf looks back. As a senior project developer at VORM Development, he was responsible for the acquisition of this project. "We thought at the time that we would never manage to win the tender. It is an achievement in itself that we still won it, based on price and sustainability."

Huge puzzle
The option agreement with the Municipality of Amsterdam was signed in July 2015. After which VORM was given 16 months to work out the project. Van der Wolf: "If we didn't make it within that time, the option would expire. But we made it, and the option was cashed in November 2016. In a scant three years we developed State, in May 2019 it was delivered. Super fast." It didn't look like that at first. Van den Doel: "The realization has been a huge puzzle. Sales of the 43 apartments initially stalled while the market was changing and construction prices were rising. We then created an area newspaper, showing what was happening in this area and what projects were already in the pipeline. We also showed that on a 3-D image. That helped. We also approached the buyers of nearby self-build lots. They could proudly tell about the potential of this area and acted as ambassadors. Rap afterwards, sales took off and the tunnel was also refurbished."

That the plan with 305 apartments remained intact is partly due to the involvement of Bouwinvest. This investor promised to buy 70 percent of the homes, which meant that the original housing program, which also included social housing, could be maintained. Van den Doel: "Bouwinvest had already been involved in the sketch phase. Their participation offered us security and gave us the opportunity to make the building even more beautiful. In the sketch phase, for example, State did not yet have a round corner. This was only added at the initiative of the architect and us during the development phase. The residents of the tower now have a round living room with glass wall and panoramic views."

Proud
"When we drive by the building now, we're all proud of it," Van der Wolf assures. "State has become a really beautiful building with that rounded corner and the specialty masonry. Twenty years from now, it will still be beautiful. In retrospect, perhaps State could have been taller, the building would have looked even sleeker. We are also pleased that the rest of the lot is now being completed with CPO homes. This will be a heartily beautiful area in twenty years with State as a worthy beginning of the new Bajeskwartier."