Canal

For the implementation of the Canal Plan, the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region has mandated a dedicated team, including several project leaders within the Urban Development Corporation (SAU). This team is responsible for the operational implementation of the Canal Plan.

The Canal Plan’s ​​700-hectare operational zone, 300 hectares of which is public land, is one of the intervention zones of the SAU-MSI within which it has limited control over land. The SAU-MSI acts in two ways: either by playing the role of coordinator and facilitator of public and private projects, or by initiating and implementing projects. Since the start of its activities, the team has been involved in around a hundred projects of very different natures.

To mention just a few examples which illustrate this diversity:

• the SAU-MSI has purchased the Citroën-Yser in October 2015 in order to create a museum of modern and contemporary art of international importance there in fulfilment of the Region’s ambition. The development of Kanal-Centre Pompidou is being funded by the Fondation Kanal.
• the SAU will construct the new building which will be home to Brussels’ alternative punk-rock concert venue Magasin 4 on a currently vacant plot at the corner of Avenue du Port and Rue de l’Entrepôt, near Tour & Taxis in Brussels.
• the SAU is acting as project manager for the conversion of the buildings at 13-15 and 17-19 Rue de Manchester in 1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean into a new cultural centre. Premises will be created on the site for cultural, artistic and creative activity, along with related facilities such as administrative offices, a multipurpose hall and artists’ residences.
• the SAU has a delegated project management role for the construction of a new regional sports facility between Quai des Armateurs and Allée Verte in Brussels.
• the SAU has a delegated project management role for the construction of an integrated support centre for vulnerable drug users. This new building will be constructed at 55 Avenue du Port in Brussels, opposite Tour &Taxis and next to the Port's headquarters.
• the SAU is supervising the construction of a new fire station at 409 Chaussée de Mons in Anderlecht. The new fire station at the heart of the Cureghem district will also feature separate shared sports facilities, intended for the use of both the Firefighting and Emergency Medical Assistance Service (SIAMU-DBDMH) and local residents.
• the SAU will act as project manager for the construction of the future central fire station on the Port Business Park site next to Tour & Taxis in Brussels.
• the SAU is analysing the possibilities for the conversion of the current central fire station site at 11-15 Avenue de l’Héliport in Brussels, which will be vacated when the facility is relocated to the Port Business Park.
• the SAU is working on the development of a new nautical cluster around the Brussels Royal Yacht Club (BRYC), on the Royal Trust and Port of Brussels land below Pont Van Praet.
• following the involvement of a number of other regional institutions, the SAU has participated in the preparatory work for the installation in the Birmingham district of ​​a production unit for materials to repair the Vivaqua sewerage network. This work, ahead of the application for a permit, has led to improvements to the project that reflect the spirit of the Canal Plan, including greater functional diversity through the addition of housing, improved urban connectivity through the creation of a route passing through the urban block, and better architectural quality.
• the SAU has participated, in collaboration with the municipality and several other regional institutions, in the preparatory work for the Biestebroeck specific land use plan (PPAS), and organised dialogue and co-production with the promoters of the various property development initiatives at the Biestebroeck Dock, in accordance with the principles of the Canal Plan. Thus, on the right bank of the Biestebroeck Dock, the SAU has been involved in negotiations for the departure of a fuel storage company whose presence was compromising the new developments (housing, etc.) envisaged by the PPAS. On the left bank, the SAU-MSI has worked with a logistics company to rationalise its land footprint and thus free up space for the Brussels Beer Project.