From office to characterful living in Hengelo

Anyone driving along Prinses Beatrixstraat in Hengelo now barely recognizes the old UWV building. What was once an office building is now a modern apartment complex. It is exactly the kind of job that the Twente branch of Van Wijnen in Eibergen is hot for: no standard work, but a challenge to savour.

Van Wijnen is a national developer and builder with offices throughout the Netherlands. But each region has its own face. From Eibergen, the team focuses on Twente and the Achterhoek region. "We are regionally rooted, know each other well and work together in a no-nonsense way," says branch director Marleen Mokkink. "With us, colleagues often work for a long time. That ensures commitment and expertise." Project manager Remco Nijkamp adds: "We see opportunities where others see obstacles. Anything that is just a bit more difficult, we get excited about. Then we can pioneer ourselves, plan cleverly and turn it into something unique." 

A transformation with obstacles

The redevelopment of the former UWV building is a good example. Once it was a warehouse, then an office for the UWV. After seven years of vacancy, the building has now been given its third function. Back in 2018, Van Wijnen was asked to think along. "Then it stayed vacant for a while, but years later we heard in the corridors that it was restarted," Mokkink says. Meanwhile, the building has been in use since November 2024: it has become a hip residential complex with nearly a hundred two-room apartments and a commercial space in the center of Hengelo. There is a communal garden, a large bicycle shed and several carports. 

Shifting gears and being creative 

"A transformation is completely different from new construction," says Nijkamp. "You never quite know what you will find once you start. That's quite exciting. Then you have to shift gears and be creative in scaling up people and resources." That was exactly the case with the UWV building. "Once it was demolished, it still looked different than we thought. But you have to start rebuilding right away. Fortunately, we are quite flexible and never shy away from a challenge." 

The schedule was tight. "We wanted to be wind and watertight before Christmas," Nijkamp continues. "But then the snow and frost came. Still, we kept going. At one point there were three superintendents on the construction site at the same time. Everyone was working on the facade, finishing and installations. All at the same time."

Cooperation and pride

It was precisely that dynamic that made the project so special. "You make these kinds of projects together," says Mokkink. "From design to execution: as a construction team you have to include each other and keep open communication. And in doing so, of course, you also have to keep the sustainability vision in mind." 

What also made the project special was the location. "Right in the middle of Hengelo, ón our region," laughs Mokkink. "Our people often bike or drive past it. And then they are proud of what they see." Nijkamp adds, "The client is very satisfied: you can hardly see that it was once an office building. Now there is just a beautiful building, where people have found their new home. And then I think: that's what we and our team have put down."