Athora Netherlands offers empty office building to host Ukrainian refugees

The empty office of Athora Netherlands on the Wognumsebuurt in Alkmaar will be used to temporarily accommodate about 300 Ukrainian refugees. Athora Netherlands and the municipality of Alkmaar have reached an agreement on this. Athora will make the vacant property available to the municipality free of charge. The latter, in turn, will make the location suitable for temporary occupation. The first Ukrainians are expected to move in early 2023.  

Athora employee Bas Jansen, who works in the Alkmaar office of Athora on the Torenburg, came up with the idea of accommodating refugees from Ukraine in the vacant office. "Until recently, I passed by our empty building in Alkmaar every day. So when I heard that there is such a great shortage of good reception places for Ukrainian refugees, for me one plus one was two and I sent an e-mail to our CEO Jan de Pooter with this proposal." Bas Jansen's suggestion was immediately enthusiastically adopted by Athora's real estate department and Executive Board.  

Helping hand

CEO Jan de Pooter is pleased that Athora can support the municipality of Alkmaar in its social task of providing housing for refugees: "Sustainability and corporate social responsibility is in our organization's DNA. This is evident from the fact that our employees come up with these kinds of ideas. As Athora, we therefore wholeheartedly support this initiative. It is important that the business community also reaches out a helping hand to tackle social problems. Once the refugees have moved in, we are going to see in what ways we can further support them from our organization."   

Redevelopment 

Athora and the municipality of Alkmaar will enter into the agreement for one year. After that, both sides will consider whether the cooperation should be extended. For the longer term, a suitable new destination for the building on the Wognumsebuurt is being investigated, says real estate specialist Leon Scheffe. "We are exploring the possibility of redeveloping the entire plot into a highly urban, green, sustainable attractive new neighborhood with a mix of housing, amenities and space for employment. This intention is part of the larger redevelopment of the entire station area."    

Housing shortage  

In this way, Athora will soon contribute to another major social problem: the housing shortage. Leon Scheffe: "For the North-Holland North region, there is room for a total of 40,000 additional homes, with the main focus in the Alkmaar region. With a possible redevelopment of the Wognumsebuurt in the railway station area, Athora can make an important social contribution here to the current housing shortage in the Netherlands on the one hand and optimize the value of its property on the other. However, this is a long-term process. That is why it is very pleasing that we have found this useful destination for this building in the intervening period."