Hof van Leijh, Haarlem | More than an apartment building

The Hof van Leijh in Haarlem is a new building bringing together housing, care and welfare. Construction company HBB Group expects to complete the multifunctional complex by the end of this year.

The idea behind the new Hof van Leijh project is that this will be a building in which young and elderly residents will live together. The building will therefore come about thanks to a collaboration between housing association Elan Wonen, Dock Haarlem, Stichting SIG and Zorgbalans. These parties signed a cooperation agreement in July 2018, after which HBB Group started construction work in September. "We are the main contractor for this project," says project manager Fleur Hubertus. "Thus, we are handling the implementation of the 130 apartments, 5 live-work houses and 42 single-family houses."

The apartments are divided into 2- and 3-bedroom apartments ranging from 49 sq. m. to 68 sq. m., each with private outdoor space. Of the single-family homes, half are social rental. The other half are owner-occupied homes, all of which have now been sold.

Hof van Leijh features 132 balconies.

Social contacts

About 70 percent of the apartments are intended for senior citizens from the care institution Zorgbalans; sixteen apartments will be occupied by people with disabilities from the SIG Foundation. Elan Wonen has asked the three institutions involved to give substance to the social areas: the building will contain facilities intended for the residents of Hof van Leijh and for local residents. In the activity service center "The Neighborhood Store" a "Neighborhood Restaurant" will be established. From neighborhood mediator Dock Haarlem, residents and neighbors can establish social contacts and exchange services. A form of reciprocity is expected from the tenants, meaning that vital tenants help the elderly. "Think for example of getting groceries for each other or hanging a painting on the wall. The Neighborhood Store links supply and demand," Hubertus explains. In addition to these spaces, HBB Group also provides a space from which Zorgbalans can offer support.

This project will include 42 single-family homes.

Preservation

In the creation of the project, sustainability was a requirement of the housing corporation. "All homes are connected to the existing WKO system of the adjacent Hof van Dumont property. We coordinated the installation of this system, which Elan Wonen outsourced to Schouten Techniek," Hubertus reveals. "In addition, the solar panels on the roof of the high-rise provide the energy needed to keep this system running. All single-family homes also have pv panels, which provide some of the energy for the home." The homes do not have a gas connection.

Following these requirements, HBB Group took a sustainability approach. "We made sure for the first time that the construction shack is gas-free. For this, we equipped the shack with a climate control system, which heats and cools. Our employees don't have to touch this: we have preset the system so that the shack always has the right temperature."

Completion

The first apartments are expected to be delivered after the construction vacation. This delivery will take place in several phases, with Hof van Leijh expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. "Although we have delivered the Zorgbalans support room, for example, as shell, we have also agreed a finishing package with this care institution. We are now working on this completion. The cooperation with Elan Wonen, Zorgbalans, Dock Haarlem and Stichting SIG makes this a special project. The addition provided by these parties makes Hof van Leijh much more than an apartment building," Hubertus said.