The first tenants will receive their keys one day later, on Saturday, 25 March.
The new complex is made up of three buildings, with room for 264 students. There are 144 studios and twelve student houses with ten rooms each. Sustainability and common spaces have been included in the concept. There is a collective heat pump with thermal energy storage in the ground. Solar panels on the roof generate electricity. And there are spaces where students can get together, such as the butterfly garden.
The rooms in the student houses measure approximately 13 square metres and will cost some 385 euros a month, service fees included. The studios measure between 20 and 25 square metres and will cost 650 euros plus an additional 155 euros in service fees. Occupants of studios who are 23 years and older may be entitled to rent benefits, which would subtract between 250 and 350 euros from their living expenses.
Plenty of interest
Idealis director and manager Bart van As: ‘Almost all of the rooms are taken. There is plenty of interest. The response to adverts on the Room website is more than in previous years, which may also be due to the public transport situation. Public transport has not returned to the pre-covid standards and is less dependable, which probably causes more students to want to live in Wageningen.’
In the last quarter of 2022, an average of 200 more students were actively searching for an Idealis room than in previous years., according to Van As. ‘We expect the availability of an additional 264 units on the Costerweg will help us achieve our deadline of 1 May this year.’ Van As refers to Idealis’ goal to have all new students housed by 1 May.
Selection
Occupants of the studios are selected based on their time on the waiting list. For the student houses, students could sign up in groups of ten. Van As: ‘A total of 46 groups applied. The twelve groups with the longest combined waiting time will move in at the end of the month.’
Rooms that are vacated in the student houses in the future will be assigned through a new application model, Van As explains. ‘To date, there were two options: assign rooms based on the waiting list, which meant the other occupants had no say in who was to become their new housemate or allow occupants to suggest a candidate who is registered on www.room.nl.’ New rules will apply to the Costerweg. Vacant rooms will be published on www.room.nl, and the ten persons with the longest waiting time will be invited for a selection. ‘Thus, the waiting time is an important criterium, but the other occupants also have a say in the matter.’
