Student - September 9, 2010
Picking your own pocket
Financial interests of Idealis and Wageningen UR are standing in the way of a solution to the student housing problem.
As for major land owner Wageningen UR, it wants to sell its Dreijen and Kortenoord grounds to project developers as expensive as possible. Idealis complains that the university is asking for land prices much too high to build student housing profitably. Wageningen UR also places its company interests before its social interests to provide housing for the growing number of students.
There are mitigating factors, though. Idealis does not want to build any more big student flats because this would lead to more lopsidedness in accommodation supply. However, small apartment complexes built on expensive land would be unaffordable for students and PhDs.
On the other hand, Wageningen UR is investing a lot of money - several hundred million euros - in the campus. It would have to get a high sum for its old buildings and grounds so that it does not need to borrow more from the capital market. Both organizations do not want to pick their own pockets. But, to paraphrase Jan Schaefer, you can't live in a pocket.