Urban Industrial is the new owner of the Groothandelsmarkt, located on the street with the same name on the industrial terrain of the Spanish Polder in Rotterdam. The building is from 1969 and contains 14,000 square metres; it was bought from the municipality of Rotterdam.
Urban Industrial is planning to transform the building in a sustainable manner. The building will be doubled in surface. After completion, there will be a new, future proof building made of concrete, steel, and glass with a roofed courtyard. The Groothandelsmarkt is located at a large industrial terrain of 74,000 square metres and consists of multiple submarkets. Several products such as charcuterie, fish, vegetables and fruits, and flowers are sold here daily.
Elbert Duifhuizen of Van der Wel Rotterdam carefully shares their positive opinion about the news. “It can only improve, actually, so this is very good for the wholesaler market. This market has existed since 1969, and has never been changed since then, so a transformation was highly necessary. Over the past few years, there were some negative rumours about the market. I have always tried to remain positive. We have various businesses on this market with different interests and there can be a lot of improvement by doing things together. We are all earning a living here! It seems strange to me though, that the media knew the news sooner than the renters themselves did. I was notified of the news by my suppliers.”
The market houses about seventy different companies and offers work to 800 employees. The value of the trade on the market totals 1.5 billion euro on an annual basis. The Groothandelsmarket plays an important role for catering, retail, and related businesses.
The municipality agreed to the sale because the terrain and business premises are no longer part of the municipal core of property portfolio. Urban Industrial will be the new owner of this market and it will give important economic and physical impulses to the Groothandelsmarket and the development of the Spanish Polder.
Urban Industrial – an investment and financing platform for industrial real estate in the Netherlands – has been advised by CBRE. Houthoff Buruma has advised the client in legal matters and Loyens & Loeff has functioned as notary. Dedate Designers and Architects has become the partner of Urban Industrial in terms of architecture.