Former site of a well-known gardening business in Heverlee is set for a new lease of life as a green student residence
02/07/2026
Cooperation agreement with KU Leuven for the development of ‘Tervuur’, which will provide accommodation for 63 students.
The former site of Lambrechts Tuinmachines on Tervuursesteenweg in Heverlee is set for a new future. From 2028, at least 63 students will be able to move into a climate-friendly hall of residence featuring a garden covering no less than 10 are. ‘Tervuur’ is being developed by ION, which specialises in the development of student accommodation and has entered into a partnership agreement with KU Leuven for this project. The university is experiencing strong growth in student numbers and has recently opened two new skills centres on the nearby Gasthuisberg Campus.
For no less than 45 years, generations of Leuven residents flocked to Tervuursesteenweg to purchase or have large and small horticultural machinery serviced by the Lambrechts family. In the autumn of 2023, the family successfully relocated its business to the Omleiding in Herent. Since then, the site in Heverlee has stood empty. Now it is to be given a new purpose.
Specifically, a three-storey student residence is being built on the site, which covers approximately 3,000 square metres. It will offer 63 rooms with either shared or private bathrooms, as well as fully-furnished studios with all the trimmings.
All rooms will be painted and furnished upon handover, so that students can move in without any worries from September 2028. What makes this project unique is that the ground-floor studios on the garden side all feature a private terrace. Each one opens seamlessly onto ‘Tervuur’s’ main attraction: a communal courtyard garden covering no less than 10 are. There, students can meet up in peace and quiet, relax or study in the sunshine.
Of note: a green cross-route will link Tervuursesteenweg with the quiet Egenhovenweg. This will provide greater safety during busy rush-hour periods for cyclists wishing to cycle to the IMEC site or the Arenberg and Gasthuisberg campuses.
Climate-friendly
ION – also known as the main sponsor of the annual Leuven Marathon – is no stranger to this sort of project. Over the years, it has specialised as a developer of student accommodation throughout Belgium. Its projects range from entirely new builds, such as ‘Mint’ in Leuven, ‘De Kroon’ in Ghent and the 53-metre-high ‘The Sky’ in Kortrijk, to regeneration projects such as ‘Meyboom’ and ‘La Rosée’ in Brussels.
As with our other projects, we are adopting a climate-friendly approach to the development of ‘Tervuur’. Among other things, we are using geothermal energy (water-to-water heat pumps) to heat the residence in winter and cool the rooms and studios in summer. This so-called heat and cold storage creates an efficient and sustainable energy system that performs optimally all year round. The major advantage of this is that significantly less additional energy is required, keeping energy costs low at a time of ever-rising energy prices. Furthermore, geothermal energy contributes to greater living comfort, as the temperature inside the building remains stable.
Expansion of the Gasthuisberg Campus
For the development of the student residence, ION has entered into a long-term cooperation agreement (SWO) with KU Leuven. This ensures that the residence will be used as accredited student accommodation for at least 27 years, tailored to meet the structural and growing demand from the university and its campuses.
Two new extensions have recently been completed on the Gasthuisberg Campus: the Skills Centre for Anatomy and Surgical Technologies and the STEPS Skills Centre, which includes innovative learning environments for students from the Biomedical Sciences Group and healthcare professionals. It is therefore no coincidence that ‘Tervuur’ is situated close to the Gasthuisberg Campus.
KU Leuven alone has a total of more than 66,000 students. A large proportion of them also live in student accommodation in Leuven, resulting in a total student accommodation rate in the city of no less than 80 per cent – the highest in Belgium.
‘Tervuur’ will be operated under a so-called ‘solidarised management’ model. This means that the hall of residence will be managed as a single entity by a single professional manager, regardless of any individual ownership structures. All letting, rental rates, occupancy levels, maintenance and operations will be carried out in accordance with uniform and pre-determined rules, in line with the agreements with KU Leuven.
These arrangements not only ensure greater efficiency and peace of mind, but also price certainty: some of the rooms are offered at regulated, affordable rents, whilst the remaining rooms and studios can be let at market rates. Whereas a student room cost around 460 euros a month just a few years ago, the figure now stands at over 550 euros. This rise is not a temporary phenomenon, but the result of fundamental factors: inflation, rising construction costs, a shortage of supply and a clear improvement in quality.
If everything goes according to plan, work on ‘Tervuur’ could begin this autumn. Flats are already on sale from 137,500 euros, excluding fees. You can find more information on tervuur.be .
