Former industrial site to make way for student accommodation and a multi-purpose space
14/09/2026
Ghent City Council has given the go-ahead for the construction of a new student residence and a multi-purpose space on Tolhuislaan and Berouw. If all goes to plan, demolition of a former industrial site on the plot will begin before the end of this year. The beautiful façade of the historic corner building will be preserved. The project will be named ‘De Poort’ and is set to welcome its first residents in the autumn of 2028.de naam ‘De Poort’ en zal de eerste bewoners verwelkomen in het najaar van 2028.
The 1,321-square-metre site has been looking rather dreary for several years now. Property developer ION purchased the site – comprising warehouses and a corner building – some time ago and, together with Bovenbouw Architectuur, drew up a plan that was approved by the City Council just before the summer.
Over the coming months, a few warehouses will be demolished and we will carefully knock down the rear section of the corner building. Behind the beautiful façade, a new residence block will be built with space for 80 student rooms; opposite, we are renovating a warehouse to create a multi-purpose space. This will serve to support the local community and will also house a spacious bicycle park on the ground floor. The two buildings will be separated by a new passageway that extends the lush greenery of the Tuin van Kina right into the heart of the neighbourhood. On Berouw, you’ll enter the green passageway through the historic gate, which we’ll be preserving.
The student rooms will be arranged around a green courtyard, which will also be a welcome relief for the neighbours. Furthermore, these are climate-friendly buildings that will be equipped with, amongst other things, geothermal energy for heating the building and domestic hot water, green roofs for water storage and rainwater cisterns.
It is no coincidence that this site focuses more on young people and students. It lies at the junction between the historic city centre and the revitalised Dokken area and has been undergoing a transformation for some time now. Step by step, the neighbourhood is becoming an increasingly attractive place to live, study and invest.
The neighbourhood is set to receive a further significant boost in the near future. With the new Artevelde University College campus at Dok Zuid, some 2,500 students are expected to find their way to this part of Ghent. The proximity to AZ Sint-Lucas also makes the location particularly attractive to students on medical and healthcare-related courses. With ‘De Poort’, we are helping to provide a solution to the acute shortage of student accommodation. In doing so, we are paying close attention to ensuring the project integrates well into the neighbourhood. The new passageway between Berouw and Tolhuislaan will also create a more open feel within the block and bring extra light and breathing space to the surrounding area.
Incidentally, ‘De Poort’ is not the only student accommodation project that ION is developing on Tolhuislaan. Just yesterday, the highest point of ‘De Kroon’ – 200 metres from the new project – was reached. There, the student rooms were completely sold out in barely five months.
The student rooms on offer in ‘De Poort’ have a starting price of 152,250 euros (excluding costs). The development comprises 27 modern rooms with a washbasin and shared bathroom facilities, 48 spacious rooms with en-suite facilities, and five studios with a kitchenette and en-suite facilities. If all goes to plan, construction of the project will begin in the spring of 2027 and the first students will be able to move in at the start of the 2028–2029 academic year.
ION is a trusted name in student accommodation. Over the years, it has specialised as a developer of student accommodation throughout Belgium. Its portfolio ranges from entirely new-build projects, such as ‘Mint’ in Leuven, ‘De Kroon’, ‘De Steiger’ and ‘De Speurder’ in Ghent, and the 53-metre-high ‘The Sky’ in Kortrijk, to conversion projects such as ‘Meyboom’ and ‘La Rosée’ in Brussels.
