At the start of November, it was announced that the Delft student accommodation provider will be responsible for managing and letting Campus Plaza. DUWO is the biggest student accommodation provider in the Netherlands. Wageningen is the fourth university town for DUWO after Delft, Amsterdam and Leiden. ‘They have a lot of experience with short-stay concepts, where students and guest staff can rent a room for a short period,’ explains Facilities and Services project manager Ad van der Have. ‘That’s something we’d like to have on our campus.’
The decision to go for DUWO means a new, serious rival for Idealis, which has dominated the Wageningen student housing market up to now. It was only recently that STW (foundation for temporary residence) entered the Wageningen student rooms market. It manages the former Administration Centre at Duivendaal and is also in the running to convert De Dorschkamp (on the Wageningse Berg) and Computechnion (De Dreijen) into temporary housing.
In addition to 400 student accommodation units, Campus Plaza will have space for a crèche, small-scale retail outlets and cafes. The idea is to have convenience stores such as a mini HEMA, AH to go or Starbucks. Wageningen UR wants to give local businesses an opportunity too. If everything goes to plan, the complex should be finished in 2015.