Fmr. ABN Amro headquarters to make way for 1,500 new homes

The Holendrecht Center, former ABN Amro headquarters and the largest vacant office building in Amsterdam, is being demolished to make way for a new residential area consisting of at least 1,500 homes, Het Parool reports. The Holendrecht Center, located between subway- and train station Holendrecht and hospital AMC, has been vacant since ABN Amro moved out in 2007. With 27 thousand square meters of office space, it is the largest unused office building in the Dutch capital. Owner Greystar and developer Blauwhoed plans to demolish the complex and build at least 1,500 apartments in its place. The apartments will be aimed at students and AMC employees, among others. Amsterdam is also looking at rebuilding other empty office buildings into something more useful. Over the past two years several office complexes in Zuidoost were converted into hotels. In Diemen-Zuid a series of office buildings were converted into a student campus. The current ING headquarters will be turned into 500 homes from 2019. And prison complex Bijlmerbajes will also be demolished to make room for housing, after it served as a temporary asylum center.