Lange Nieuwstraat, IJmuiden | Unique new building complex marks center of IJmuiden

In the heart of IJmuiden, on Lange Nieuwstraat, Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs en Zonen B.V. is putting the finishing touches to a striking new construction complex. In this beautiful ensemble of four buildings, buyers, tenants and entrepreneurs will find a unique home.

The complex on Lange Nieuwstraat is an initiative of Woningbedrijf Velsen. De Nijs became involved in the development at an early stage and stepped in as a participant. "In the design team, we thought along in the preliminary and final design," says De Nijs business manager Yvonne Honig. "In the construction team, we contributed to the technical and execution design."

The total development consists of four residential blocks. The first three blocks consist of a total of 78 rental homes, with the project name UNIC. The fourth block, partly adjacent to the market square, was named IJkpunt. This block contains thirty owner-occupied apartments and three commercial spaces.

Dynamic facade appearance

All the blocks have the same architecture, from ONX architects. The blocks each have four residential floors and a high roof. Characteristic is the dynamic facade image, with staggered balconies and different finishes. For example, part of the facades are clad with eternit sheeting and part with wild brickwork. The balconies are fitted with stone strips and plastic window frames have been used throughout. Honig: "In contrast to the rectangular blocks of UNIC, IJkpunt has an L-shape. As a result, the owner-occupied apartments have a slightly different floor plan than the rental apartments."

Construction work

After the environmental permits were issued, it took another year and a half before construction began. This was due to objections, all of which were eventually rejected or withdrawn. In January 2018, construction of UNIC began. Ice Point followed three months later. "The concrete pile foundation was in before that," says Honig. "On top of that, we applied the concrete foundation. We built the residential blocks with wide slab floors and concrete load-bearing walls. We anchored the prefabricated balconies to the concrete structure with iso baskets. We sealed the facades with the masonry, the timber frame elements with eternit cladding and the plastic window frames. On the roofs are roof tiles and pv panels."

Inner-city building

One area of concern during construction involved the pile foundation of the residential block of condominiums. "There was an old basement under there," Honig explains. "Initially, we wanted to drill holes in the soil, through which the piles could pass. In the end, we removed the entire soil." Another concern is the inner-city location. Honig: "We are building in the middle of IJmuiden. That requires efficient logistics and good environmental management. We limit nuisances such as noise, construction dirt and transport movements as much as possible."

Good cooperation

De Nijs is putting the finishing touches to the 'i' in the owner-occupied apartments. The rental apartments have already been completed. Property manager Dennis Meijer of Woningbedrijf Velsen is very pleased with the pleasant cooperation, the well-run process, the delivery with zero completion points in the homes and the good transfer to the residents. "That such a process goes so smoothly is not something that can be taken for granted," Meijer said. "In my opinion, it is due to good cooperation from the execution team, but also internally with the various departments. Not only during the construction process, but also now after completion. In preparation for questions and complaints from residents, the De Nijs service and maintenance team and our customer contact center exchanged knowledge and experiences. That is bearing fruit." Honig adds, "What was also of great value to Woningbedrijf Velsen was that we were an apprentice construction site. Woningbedrijf Velsen also paid a lot of attention to promoting construction and engineering among young people. We regularly welcomed boys and girls to our construction site to talk about our beautiful field. This gave the cooperation with Woningbedrijf Velsen an extra dimension."