The acquisition concerns the land in the Spoorkwartier: the place where innovation, education, entrepreneurship and living come together. AM is developing the iconic Wärtsilä hall here, which will feature a “floating” residential building. This will give the existing hall a distinctive look and create space for more apartments. Together with the surrounding NS buildings and the residential development, a new district will be created with approximately 850 homes for a variety of target groups. Approximately thirty percent of these will be social housing. In addition, there will be 25,000 m² of space for businesses, catering, offices, education and other facilities. Two mobility hubs will ensure sustainable accessibility.

The site will be released in phases starting in June 2026, after which the remediation work will commence and the plans will be further developed. In the meantime, the largest hall will be temporarily repurposed as a sports and meeting place for the city until mid-2029. The halls will be filled with urban sports, including padel, volleyball and various youth sports activities. NS is facilitating this temporary use in collaboration with local sports providers and the municipality of Zwolle. This will keep the hall vibrant and contribute to a lively Spoorzone even before the transformation. The actual transfer of the remaining land to AM is planned in phases between 2026 and 2029.

Chantal Snelling Berg, Development Manager at NS Stations: ‘We are very pleased with this development. The sale of the site and the halls will contribute to the realisation of the greenest urban station area in the Netherlands and the desired innovation district.’

Farshad Nobakht, Project Director Spoorzone at AM: "As a socially driven area developer, our mission is to create living environments that are both inspiring and future-proof. The Spoorzone will be such a place: a vibrant urban neighbourhood where everything comes together. With this acquisition, we are taking another clear step towards creating a district where people enjoy living, working and meeting each other. I look forward to taking the plans further. In the coming period, we will focus on the development of housing and the further elaboration of the plans.