With a large majority, Eindhoven City Council approved the purchase of Brainport Industries Campus (BIC-1), located on A2 motorway in the north of the city, on Tuesday evening. “A historic decision.”
It was to be expected that the municipal council would agree to the acquisition of the campus site. When the council debated the purchase a week ago, Alderman Stijn Steenbakkers (Brainport) on behalf of the City Council could already count on the necessary pats on the back.
Time pressure
These pats on the back were translated into an almost unanimously adopted proposal on Tuesday evening. Only Forum voor Democratie (FvD) council member Nicolas Knoester voted against the real estate deal. He thinks it is an “unwise” decision. Opposition party VVD (People’s Party For Freedom And Democracy) struggled with the purchase because of the time pressure behind it and whether the municipality is in the right position by investing in it. The campus was in the hands of a commercial party, British investor Capreon. In the end, VVD also voted in favour of the “carefully developed plans”.
Secret
How much money the municipality has to pay to the British investor is currently still secret. In the past period, council members were updated several times behind closed doors about the financial details of the acquisition. “The city’s finances are stable right now. And this deal is solid. Part of the money will also flow back to the city”, were the reassuring words of Alderman Maes van Lanschot (finance) earlier.
Historic
The purchase of the campus is the next in the series of ‘historic decisions’ of the Eindhoven City Council. The purchase of Wielewaal estate and the expansion of ASML were also previously given this stamp. The expansion of the high-tech giant must take place near the purchased BIC-1.
The building that the municipality is now taking over accomodates around fifty companies, educational institutions and organisations that exchange knowledge and collaborate in the field of technology and innovation. In the coming years, BIC-2 to 6 will be further developed in the immediate vicinity. Construction of BIC-2 will start this year.
Most social campus
Coalition parties GroenLinks (green left party), PvdA (labour party) and opposition party SP (socialist party) made a proposal to record the public interest of BIC-1 in the statutes and to make it the “most social campus in the Netherlands”. Alderman Steenbakkers embraced the idea, but the substantive discussion about this will not take place in the Eindhoven Council Chamber until early 2026.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
