Beautiful plans for station surroundings Kennispark

Johan van Gerven is Manager Business & Acquisition at Kadans Science Partners and works together with Micronit on an optimal plan for the station location. Micronit is well advanced with the plans for the new building of its head office and production facility for lab-on-a-chip products. Ronny van ‘t Oever, CEO of Micronit: “Micronit has taken the initiative to turn the station site into an area where we can establish ourselves in a high-tech environment with closely related companies. An environment where it is nice to work and stay. Together with Kadans, we are now realising this vision”. Between Micronit’s new premises and the station, both initiators want to realise a multi-tenant building with facilities in the lower plinth of the building for general use. Think for example of a mini-supermarket or coffee place. The building should provide space for innovative companies in an inspiring environment with shared facilities to promote meeting and innovation. A modern, innovative hotspot that contributes to community building in the park. Packaged in an attractive and sustainable jacket! Johan van Gerven: “We are going to discuss this proposal with the municipality to see which functions fit in well with the total concept for the area.

Looking for a suitable development location

Since the end of last year, Kadans Science partners has been the intended end investor for Kennispark. This led to the signing of the Letter of Intent between Kadans, the University of Twente and the municipality of Enschede just before Christmas. From that moment on, an attractive location for the realisation of a multi-tenant building has also been actively sought. Initially, a plot along the Hengelosestraat seemed the right spot, but with Micronit’s new building plans in the station area and Micronit’s wishes and vision in this area, this plot also became an interesting option. It is a large lot with very good accessibility, which lends itself perfectly to the development of a multi-tenant building. Moreover, there are several MedTech companies in the immediate vicinity, which also creates a spatial cluster.

Mass study: interactive with the environment

“Right now we’re working out our ideas for this place. Our architect Proof of the Sum has joined forces with Micronit’s construction partner and architect B-Happy to design something beautiful on this site, entirely in line with the campus idea”, says Van Gerven. “We emphatically seek interaction with the square, the opposite Innovation Path and take into account the logistic movements in the area. We presented our mass study to the Kennispark organisation and municipality at the beginning of March and they responded enthusiastically. We are now waiting for an official go to further elaborate the plans and are looking for potential tenants”.

Companies that strengthen DNA

These plans focus at this stage on finding a suitable interpretation for the building. “We want to contract partners who, together with neighbouring Micronit, contribute to the high-tech profile of Kennispark. We are thinking of suppliers and entrepreneurs in, for example, MedTech, instrument construction or biomedical corner, but also sector-related facilities such as clean rooms and shared facilities. We are mainly looking to strengthen the dna at Kennispark”.

These plans focus at this stage on finding a suitable interpretation for the building. “We want to contract partners who, together with neighbouring Micronit, contribute to the high-tech profile of Kennispark. We are thinking of suppliers and entrepreneurs in, for example, MedTech, instrument construction or biomedical corner, but also sector-related facilities such as clean rooms and laboratories. We are primarily looking to strengthen the DNA at Kennispark. In the multi-tenant building, companies can easily grow if more space is needed. At the same time, the ecosystem in the new building and Kadans’ network at other science parks offer opportunities for collaboration.

Entrepreneurs who settle down at this location will find themselves in an inspiring environment. The building will be equipped with an attractive atrium, beautiful meeting rooms and, of course, a special location with a view. There will also be room for a public function in which meetings between different disciplines will contribute to the park’s innovative power. “As far as we are concerned, it will really be a new innovation centre where meeting each other is central,” says Van Gerven. “We are now going to develop the concept further together with the most important stakeholders, so that the concept with its associated functions meets the wishes of tenants and fits within the frameworks set by the municipality. It’s of course exciting how everything is going in this Corona period, but we aim to have a feasible business case ready in about four months’ time. This requires that we have sufficient concrete interest from companies that would like to establish themselves here. After that, we can move on and start the licensing process. When everything falls into place, there may be a new inspiring heart for Kennispark in two years’ time!

Rent? Join us?

Looking for a nice rental location? And do you think you can strengthen the dna of Kennispark? Then report to Johan van Gerven.

Telephone: 06-53 58 28 57
Mail: j.gerven@kadans.com

Of course, no acquisition…