Future vision of The Loop

As alderman for economy, commerce, sports and port, Sofie Bracke has a clear perspective on a project like Upoffiz on The Loop. Co-CEOs Nele and Koenraad talked to her about the site, the project and the possibilities for the future. Take a moment to read along. 

NELE: Do you remember our 2018 video pitch and presentation to the College of Aldermen?

SOFIE: I already knew you and I was particularly charmed by the almost un-Flemish level of ambition. That radiated from the video pitch. I like that in itself. It's kind of what we do with the Winter Circus as well. It's not so Flemish to say, “You know what? We're just going to be the best. We see it that way here and that's just going to be good. That's going to be the max.” The level of ambition is very high. In that sense, I found it very good and refreshing.

NELE: The development of The Loop was in the doldrums for years. How did you guys experience this new wind that Upgrade Estate blew over the site?

SOFIE: Your pitch at the time provided a piece of the impetus for us as a city to look harder for solutions to the development of the site. If we as a city don't do our homework, we're going to be behind the times. When it comes to the entire Loop site, it certainly set one and all in motion. The unfortunate observation, though, is that we are still doing homework while developments do continue. I fear that we as a government are occasionally late in doing our homework. Legislation often comes after a whole issue is already there.

On the other hand, as an alderman of economics, I am happy with the kind of developments that are coming here and the way they are evolving. The idea of a unilateral economic zone is no longer there with many players. The brightest economic zones are those sites that do have some mixing and thinking about a mix of functions. And you guys totally live up to that here. 

NELE: With Loop5, Upgrade Estate indeed wants to make a statement that the future of The Loop can look different and that you can connect people by combining functions and taking control. There are many parties involved in this and the processes for zoning and the master plan are long. How is the College of Aldermen looking at this? 

SOFIE: We are not with the developments on the site waiting for the new spatial implementation plan (RUP). In the meantime, you can see in the outlines of the old SIP that the dynamics do continue with the necessary deviations. That's not news. Everyone sees that, too. There they have started, already another crane at. That's moving forward here. It hasn't been that way for a very long time. I remember alderman Versnick saying 12 years ago that it has to move forward. Progression in itself is not a bad thing. There is a general sense among aldermen and city departments that it is time to move up a gear. 

NELE: We have a collaboration here with UGent for our Upliving building. We have also expressed our ambition to create a student village on The Loop in the future. Do you believe in the combination of students, young professionals and working professionals on The Loop?

SOFIE: I think that in itself is a good idea. The need is particularly great and we very much want student housing there. Your concept of keeping some of the management there yourself is a good solution for the livability of the whole city.

Here I see potential for bringing all these different groups together, both economically and in terms of urban development. The time to think in very rigid boxes of being a student for four, five years and then doing something else. It doesn't work that way anymore. You have students of all ages today within the concept of lifelong learning. Places within the city that are more connected to that are a good idea in that context.

NELE: As an alderman of economics, what is your ultimate dream to get realized on The Loop?

SOFIE: I think as a city you have to choose economic stories with the most added value for the city as a whole. You can do several things with a big piece of land in the harbor. You can turn it into a parking lot for Chinese cars that are parked with us from Zeebrugge for months until they are sold. On the other hand, you can also choose to establish a company there that can help other companies advance in their CO2 emission challenges. That in turn ensures that they become a crucial link in the circular chain. With the latter alternative, you build an ecosystem with much greater added value for other companies, but also for the city as a whole.

Such economic space is becoming scarce in a city like Ghent. We have to choose the stories very consciously according to how we can create maximum added value. I think what you are doing here through office buildings is a good story. I think that in a city like Ghent with many assets and scarce economic space, we can make a choice. Let's make that choice wisely.

NELE: We want to demonstrate with this project that, as a commercial player, we can translate our stated social and environmental mission into a viable financial context. We connect people, that's our core business and we build a setting around that. What do you think really sets us apart from any other company renting here on the site?

SOFIE: If you look at the Ghent office market, you see two extremes. On one side, you see places that get so many requests that they almost can't keep up. Two kilometers away is an office building half empty where you feel something has to be done to get that going. How does this happen? Corona has reinforced all this, but I think on days when we want to go to the office we also want to get everything out of it, nice meetings with our colleagues, a nice lunch, a personal conversation in the coffee corner, and so on. 

Office sites that can respond to this are much more successful in attracting businesses. Of course there is vacancy in the office market, but these are often older office buildings that are divided into small separate cubicles and do not operate sustainably. Here you would already have to make very large investments to make them more energetically and socially sustainable. You come to your workplace not just for work, but also to meet, have a meeting, have an informal chat. The feeling that you're not working on your own, but with other people proverbially pulling at the same sea, that's what places and space must respond to.

NELE: We want to be a magnet for talent. People should like to come to work where they feel casual and at home.

SOFIE: In a mega tight job market, young talented guys put everything in the balance, including that it has to be a fun place to work.

KOENRAAD: Will there be enough room in Ghent in the long run to accommodate all those high ambitions of value-driven stakeholders from the search for added value?

SOFIE: Daring to make smart choices will become very important. On the other hand, we must dare to bring entrepreneurs into the story of everyone in the right place and share spaces with each other. What you guys are doing here is literally making the most of every square foot. You have chosen not to make a meeting room that sits empty 90 percent of the time. A meeting room must also be profitable because square meters are scarce. I feel this mindset in a number of places in Ghent, but not yet everywhere. In all honesty, I think this should become the mindset everywhere in Ghent. Besides, it is not only an economic fact. The time when a sports hall stood empty during the day and was only used after hours is gradually becoming untenable. Or conversely, a school with a sports hall where the door closes at 4 p.m. and during school vacations, or a library that is open 10 hours a week and nothing happens for the rest. We no longer have that luxury; square footage has become too scarce for that. So share and make the best use of them. 

NELE: Would you like to work here yourself?

SOFIE: Yes. When I was just walking around here, it occurred to me that I should have brought the College of Aldermen here (laughs). It's a fun place, though. I think in the nicest places you can work well but also feel like there's more going on than just work. I think there are opportunities here on the site to make a place that is always alive.