ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund acquires Wonderwoods office in Utrecht

On behalf of the ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund, a.s.r. real estate has bought the site of the future Wonderwoods offices on Jaarbeursboulevard in Utrecht from G&S Real Estate and KondorWessels Projects. The site will house offices, a museum called Playlab, ground-floor facilities and an underground parking garage.

Wonderwoods will consist of two towers measuring 70 and 100 metres, respectively. The offices in the Wonderwoods project have been designed by MVSA Architects and are located in the Beurskwartier, Utrecht’s new Central Business District, within walking distance of Utrecht Central Station and near the Jaarbeurs. The project as a whole is made up of homes, offices, healthy hospitality businesses, a gym, facilities on the ground floor and an underground parking garage. The ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund is purchasing around 14,000 square metres of office space, in addition to the Playlab, which measures around 2,400 m2, and the underground facilities in MVSA Architects’ tower. The Fund is also acquiring the entire underground parking garage with 160 parking spaces.

Playlab

Playlab is an experimental space where visitors both young and old can get a glimpse of the future. The interactive exhibitions and installations in this cutting-edge ‘Science Art’ museum allow visitors to really experience the impact of new inventions. Playlab is being developed in association with leading actors from within the Netherlands and abroad. The lab will be dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration and become a place where scientists and artists can come together to experiment with new technologies and applications.

Sustainability and circularity

The development and construction of the Wonderwoods project involves a team of specialists who ensure that the latest innovative techniques in terms of energy, water, health and circularity are applied to the project. Wonderwoods will benefit from an abundance of plants and will be completed to a high standard: the building is expected to achieve BREEAM Excellent certification, not least due to the use of local urban heating in combination with an in-house thermal storage system.

‘Wonderwoods is a perfect fit for the strategy of the ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund, which focuses on offices situated near to mobility hubs,’ says Pieter Vandeginste, Fund Director at the ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund. ‘The combination of office space and the creativity in the Playlab is particularly unique. In the future, the urban environment will involve an ever-greater amalgamation of functions, so Wonderwoods is the concept of the future.’

The ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund is commercially supported by Van Gool Elburg Real Estate Specialists and receives legal advice from Houthoff. During the process, G&S Real Estate has consulted with BNP Paribas Real Estate and received legal support from NautaDutilh. Construction is expected to begin at the end of this year, and the completed project is expected to be delivered in mid-2022.