Reconversion and renovation are terms that have become commonplace in the world of real estate in recent years. “If we all want to achieve the 2050 climate goals, something has to be done about our ageing real estate assets,” many real estate experts have been saying for some time now.

From a historical point of view, renovation already adds value. “But even for industrial buildings that are not protected, a conscious choice is often made for redevelopment,” states Erwin Vrijens, Head of Real Estate at PMV, which has a wealth of experience in counselling and financing in the domain of sustainable area development and supporting real estate projects with historical or social importance.

Greenfield development is still rare. “It just so happens that today there are very few areas free to be built on and so it has also become a social trend to start looking at existing sites and reuse those built-up areas,” Vrijens says. Often a building – even if it is not a protected heritage site – is view-defining and the government or the developer concerned therefore often chooses not to demolish it but rather to opt for the reconstruction or renovation of that same structure with spatial and functional embedding in a broader project. The consideration of whether or not to preserve and renovate versus demolish has to be made again with each project and should be considered from both an economic as well as qualitative and sustainability perspective.

The challenge lies in keeping the projects affordable and to achieve this various factors have to be taken into account, such as building materials, renovation techniques, urban planning degrees of freedom but also the applicable VAT rate, the latter being a much debated topic with the political parties currently discussing the new government. The important thing seems to be to still provide sufficient tax incentives to address the renovation challenges, for both the real estate professional and the individual.

According to Vrijens, we are on the eve of a particularly challenging period in which crucial choices – including in the real estate sector – can lead to a head start for ‘a better’ Flanders in several areas: an enterprising, sustainable, affordable, innovative Flanders which can (continue to) be among the most prosperous regions in the world.

Find out more about these topics in the debate ‘Sustainable Reconversion, Redevelopment, Renovation: Best Practices’ – 18/09/2024 at 10:30.

View the full programme of the summit here