'Bogged down in admin': Gare du Midi real estate project on hold

The Fonsny real estate project at Gare du Midi has been put on hold due to budgetary concerns and an ongoing appeal before the Council of State, according to federal mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).

The project is led by Belgian railway operator SNCB and aims to develop a new building for the company by renovating and extending existing buildings.

Despite getting the greenlight in December 2022, Crucke says it was not possible to determine when work will begin.

“An appeal for annulment was lodged with the Council of State in February 2023 against this project,” the minister said.

“Additionally, SNCB has to contend with a difficult budgetary context and recent inflation in construction costs.”

Crucke expressed concern about the "indefinite pause".

“We cannot accept that this issue remains bogged down in vague administrative and budgetary considerations while the Brussels-Midi district continues to deteriorate in the absence of visible and structural public investment,” he said.

“We call on the government to take responsibility. It’s no longer a question of studying, but of deciding.”

MEP Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) suggested SNCB be forced to pay a vacancy tax for the empty site amid concerns over safety.

“This will force SNCB to actively combat vacancy and do something about unsafe urban blights,” Quickenborne said.

“The neighbourhood around Gare du Midi already has such a bad image, even though the station is one of the main gateways to our country. At the same time, SNCB is allowing this building to fall into disrepair.”

SNCB is currently exempt from vacancy taxes due to a law that has been in force since 1926.

“The government is very strict with private companies when it comes to vacancy taxes, but exempts itself – this means that a public company such as SNCB is in no way encouraged to combat vacancy, and this kind of urban blight develops,” said Quickenborne.

“Treating SNCB in the same way as other owners creates a concrete incentive to give buildings a new function, for example through conversion, rental or transfer.

"Such repurposing can in turn contribute to the liveability of neighbourhoods, combat urban decay and improve vulnerable areas."