SAU-MSI puts Usquare.brussels in the spotlight at MIPIM 2019
The Brussels-Capital Region has a long history of participation in MIPIM, and since 2015 has presented itself there at a Belgium Pavilion co-financed with Wallonia and Flanders, which raises the profile of all three Belgian Regions.
As the Belgian and European capital and a city of international stature, it is right for Brussels to be present at this key professional gathering of the real estate sector. Over the years, depending on what is topical, it has promoted its regional development ambitions, its major urban projects, the talents of its architects, the exemplary achievements of its public bodies, private investment opportunities within its territory and so on. And of course, given that MIPIM is an important annual networking fixture, it also listens attentively to other voices in the real estate sector.
This year in Cannes, from 12 to 15 March, the Brussels-Capital Region will be showcasing its major achievements and projects in regional development, its mechanisms to support investments in sustainable construction and a series of flagship initiatives in the field of transitional urban development, including See U, the transitional occupation of Usquare.brussels.
An agile Region: temporary urban development in Brussels
On Thursday 14 March, following the traditional ‘Breakfast in Brussels’ which is attended by several hundred real estate professionals every year from all areas of the public and private sectors, Gilles DELFORGE, Director of the Urban Development Corporation, will give an update on See U, the transitional occupation beginning this spring on some 25,000m² of the 48,000m² of the former Fritz Toussaint barracks, which will be renovated into a diverse district (housing, academic activities, facilities, etc.) in the Usquare.brussels project.
This presentation will take place as part of the conference ‘An agile Region: temporary urban development in Brussels’, during which several other regional public bodies and a private real estate operator will explain how the Brussels-Capital Region is firmly in line with the current trend for transitional urban planning.
- Tom SANDERS, Director of the Territorial Strategy Department of perspective.brussels, will discuss the growing importance of temporary occupation as an element of regional strategy and present Brussels’ practical guide, which sets out the conditions that will allow this tool to add value for the city, its citizens and its users.
- Isabelle GRIPPA, Director of hub.brussels, will focus on the commercial real estate sector. After three years of research and development, her organisation is preparing to move up a gear by developing a commercial incubation network that, beyond the simple pop-up store phenomenon, combines temporary occupation and support for an economic, fundamentally urban and local dynamic.
- Cédric MALI, Chief Commercial Officer of Befimmo, will present Lab North, a Brussels example of transitional occupation piloted by the private sector (Up4North).
- There will also be contributions from Benjamin CADRANEL, CEO of citydev.brussels, Bety WAKNINE, Director of urban.brussels, and Kristiaan BORRET, Chief Architect of the Brussels-Capital Region.
For more information or to register for the various Brussels conferences at MIPIM, go to: www.surrealestate.be