Arenberg Science Park gets community building

KU Leuven Research & Development, City of Leuven, PMV and Flanders Make working together

SCIENCE PARK ARENBERG GETS COMMUNITY BUILDING

Leuven, 24 September 2024 - The Arenberg Science Park in Heverlee will be home to a multifunctional building that will provide space for researchers and entrepreneurs and will also play an important role in building the park's community. The new building will include not only office space, but also event, restaurant and meeting facilities. ‘Community Building Arenberg’ is being realised through a collaboration between KU Leuven Research & Development, the Flemish investment company PMV, the strategic research centre Flanders Make and the City of Leuven. They founded a company for this purpose today. If everything goes according to plan, the building will open its doors at the end of 2027.

Science Park Arenberg, together with the imec campus and the engineering faculty of KU Leuven - as well as the nearby Gasthuisberg campus, the university hospital, the biomedical sciences campus and the VIB - forms a strong high-tech zone with international appeal. The park is unique in its kind because of the diversity of scientific expertise, which is a huge asset for technology companies. There, they can further develop ideas and research results into concrete business projects.

The park has expanded considerably in recent years. It included five bio-incubators with offices and labs for drug development companies - a sixth is planned, an innovation centre for the manufacturing industry and a new research centre of biopharmaceutical group UCB. By 2026, the new Innovation Cradle should be ready: a building with 7,500 square metres of office space. In addition, the park will also house an industrial building for medtech company MiDiagnostics, among others, as well as a new parking building. 

The environmental permit for the building, which was designed by renowned design firm 360 architects, has now been delivered. Tendering is currently underway for the construction works, which will start next year and will be supervised by KU Leuven's technical services. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.

‘Quality of life plays the deciding factor for many top (international) profiles to join a company. That is precisely where the new community building can make a difference. It will be a place where talents can meet, exchange and network. So that they can anchor themselves faster and better in the city,’ says Lalynn Wadera, Leuven alderman for the economy.

‘Qualitative space for innovative spin-offs, start-ups, growers and international companies (where possible embedded in ecosystems and networks) contribute greatly to Flanders' competitive position. That is why PMV participates wholeheartedly in this project,’ says Erwin Vrijens, head of real estate at Flemish investment company PMV.

‘Leuven gives local companies and the knowledge-driven economy necessary space with this building. This creates quality jobs for all levels of education and technological innovations that are socially relevant and benefit everyone,’ says Grisja Lobbestael, CEO of Flanders Make.

‘The Community Building Arenberg will be a place for creativity and connection: two indispensable ingredients for innovation. The building will allow high-tech companies, such as our own spin-offs, to meet and exchange ideas. It fits perfectly within KU Leuven Research & Development's commitment to knowledge-driven regional development,’ says Paul Van Dun, general director of KU Leuven Research & Development.

About PMV

The Flemish investment company PMV is shaping the future of the Flemish economy. PMV finances promising companies from the very start, through to growth and internationalisation. PMV offers tailor-made financial solutions to all entrepreneurs with a good business plan and a strong management team. It does so with capital, loans and guarantees. It also realises, with and for the government, and other partners, projects that are important for prosperity and well-being in Flanders. PMV has a portfolio with EUR 1.8 billion under management. It also markets standardised financing instruments, which also contain a support component.

About KU Leuven Research & Development

KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) supports scientists who want to turn their research into impactful innovations. As a technology transfer service of the KU Leuven Association, LRD guides them to put their research results at the service of society, the economy and the living environment. Among other things, by stimulating knowledge-driven entrepreneurship and innovation, and providing the necessary space for this: both figuratively - by setting up multidisciplinary structures in and around the university - and literally via the development of incubators and science parks in the region around Leuven and beyond.

About city of Leuven

Leuven and the Leuven Innovation Region forms an internationally leading region for innovation within the fields of health, life sciences, hardware & production engineering, deep tech, digitalisation and creativity. We owe this to the presence of knowledge and research institutions belonging to the top of the world with an ever-growing ecosystem of start-ups and scale-ups around it. Moreover, in this region we always innovate with an eye for the long-term impact on people, society and the planet. Not for nothing did Leuven receive the prestigious title ‘European Capital of Innovation’ in 2020.

About Flanders Make

Flanders Make is the strategic research centre for the manufacturing industry. From offices all over Flanders, we focus on industry-driven high-quality technological research and innovation together with and for large companies and SMEs. Our aim is to contribute to the technological development of the vehicles, machines and factories of the future. We also strongly focus on international innovation cooperation and participation in European research projects. Flanders Make is active throughout Flanders, with co-creation centres in Lommel, Leuven and Kortrijk and core labs at the 5 Flemish universities: KULeuven, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteit Gent, Universiteit Hasselt and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.