Apartment block The Pineapple at highest point

The construction of De Ananas, a residential block on the edge of the Leiden city center with 374 apartments, an indoor parking garage and commercial spaces on the ground floor, is progressing well. The first keys were handed over in March of this year and the first residents have now moved in. With this, construction of the project is well on schedule.

"Construction is going well," assures Jasper Verdoes, project manager at De Raad Bouw of Katwijk, which is acting as the developing builder on this project. "That is quite remarkable because these are special times. The tightness on the construction market is making itself felt now, partly as a result of the war in Ukraine. The entire building industry in the Netherlands is noticing the consequences, with prices for rebar or roofing, for example, rising enormously. Everyone is affected. Where is this going? Many projects are based on old contracts, so all parties involved now have to get together to absorb these price increases. I hope the prices come down soon, otherwise a lot of parties will be in trouble in the near future and it is doubtful whether developers will dare to take on such large projects as The Pineapple."

Very few to zero completion points

As for the continued performance of The Pineapple, however, Verdoes is not worried. "We don't get nervous about it. Apart from a few minor hiccups in supply, we are able to continue working well. Some things we had already indexed. It is not causing us any delays so far and we can deliver the requested quality. With the delivered homes, there were very few, sometimes even zero delivery issues. We can keep that up until the last apartment."

Project De Ananas is adjacent to the so-called Lammenschans Triangle near Lammenschans Station. De Ananas is being built on the former fruit and vegetable auction site. Around De Ananas there are currently several office buildings and business premises which will be redeveloped by De Raad Bouwontwikkeling over the next few years, creating a beautiful city district where living, working, studying and recreation come together.

Own look and color scheme

City Block De Ananas was designed by Van Egmond Architects. The five towers have varying heights and their own look and color scheme. They will be built in three phases. More than half of the first phase of 140 smaller apartments has now been completed. For phase 2, tower Viridis with 70 luxury and more expensive apartments, the concrete work has reached the highest point. Completion is scheduled for early 2023. At nearly 60 meters, this is the tallest building in the project. Concrete work will start this summer for the third phase, with 138 rental apartments in the medium and private sectors.

Green Certificate

The homes of the square-shaped block are arranged around a communal courtyard garden, which is located on the roof of a two-story parking garage. With a greenhouse, bocce court, table tennis table, outdoor furniture, playground equipment and playing field, the courtyard should become an attractive place to stay. In addition to housing, the plinth provides space for work units and two catering establishments. The apartments will have a collective heat pump system with open ground sources, providing the homes with comfortable heating and cooling through the floor. A large amount of solar panels will be installed on the roof of De Ananas, making the project progressive in terms of sustainability. Even so sustainable that De Raad Bouw has received the green certificate from the Rijksdienst Ondernemend Nederland for this project.