Where others see obstacles,
we see potential.

Since 2017, Hexagon has been developing business property on sites that other developers pass over. Contaminated soil, legal complexity, a history of industrial activity: for us, these are not reasons to walk away, but reasons to get started. Brownfield redevelopment is not a niche in our portfolio. It is the core of what we do.

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+500km²

Brownfield redeveloped

98.265

Green space returned

12+years

Experience with brownfield covenants

70+

Combined industry experience

No more building on empty farmland

Flanders is running out of space. By 2040, we want to stop building on new open land. At the same time, all over our provinces there are empty old factories, hangars that are no longer used and sites that have lost their purpose. These places already have an industrial past, and that is where new industry belongs. Not on a field.

For us, this is not an abstract policy question. It is how we work. Every Hexagon project starts on a site that was already there. We demolish what is no longer useful, clean up what is contaminated and build something new on land that would otherwise lie idle.

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“Where others see obstacles, we see potential”

Jelle Vandendriessche Founder of Hexagon

What is a brownfield?

A brownfield is a site that once had an economic function (a factory, a workshop, a storage site, a processing plant) and that today is unused, underused or difficult to redevelop. There is often a combination of obstacles: soil contamination, abandoned structures, asbestos, complex ownership structures or a permit history that calls for legal caution.

According to figures from the Flemish government, there are 479 hectares of unused business land in West Flanders alone. Enough to accommodate almost all new business premises of the coming decade, if we manage to bring those sites back into use. That is what Hexagon focuses on.

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How we redevelop a brownfield

Acquisition and risk inventory

We carry out thorough preliminary research before we buy. Soil survey, legal screening, asbestos inventory, technical condition of existing buildings, permit history. Only when we are comfortable with what lies beneath do we make an offer. The seller gets a fair and discreet price, based on the actual cost of what lies ahead.

Remediation and brownfield covenant

Where necessary, we enter into a brownfield covenant with OVAM (the Public Waste Agency of Flanders) and the Flemish government. This gives us the fiscal and legal certainty to remediate the site and arrange liability by contract. We then demolish, dispose of waste correctly and clean up the soil to the standard required by the new use.

Permit and design

Alongside the remediation, we develop the masterplan with our architect partners and consult with the municipality, the province and local residents. Redevelopment always affects an environment that already exists. That is why we invest as much time in dialogue as in design.

Construction and handover

We carry out the construction with a regular circle of partners who know our work and our standards. We deliver sites with open architecture, plenty of green space, high-quality materials and shared facilities that strengthen the companies on site rather than isolate them.

The brownfield covenant:
what it is, and why it works

A brownfield covenant is an agreement between a developer and the Flemish government that sets out the legal and fiscal framework for remediating and redeveloping a contaminated or complex site. For our sector, this instrument is crucial: without this framework, much redevelopment would be financially unfeasible.

Hexagon now has experience with several brownfield covenants, including the one for the former Bekaert site in Zwevegem (now Park Apart) and ongoing projects in Roeselare and Zwijndrecht. That experience helps us assess in advance which procedures are feasible, which risks are manageable and how long each process will take.

For a seller or receiver dealing with a complex site, that matters. We know what we are taking on before we make an offer, which makes our offers more serious than those of parties who hope it will all work out.

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Three sites we rebuilt

The best way to understand brownfield redevelopment is to look at what used to be there and what stands there now. Three stories from our portfolio.

Park Apart, Zwevegem Former Bekaert site

The Bekaert site in Zwevegem was a steel-processing site that lost its purpose when the company relocated its activities. What was left behind: heavy industrial contamination, old production halls and a vacant plot along the N8 that stood empty for years. We took it over through a brownfield covenant with the Flemish government and OVAM.

Today it is home to Park Apart: an SME park with offices and business units, offering room to newcomers and established names alike. One of those established names is Duthoo Coating Concepts.

Bazuin, Roeselare Former Verbrugge and Deprez sites

The Verbrugge and Deprez sites in Roeselare were two adjacent metalworking companies, each with decades of industrial activity and the soil contamination that comes with it. When they ceased operations, the question was what to do with this inner-city area: demolishing for housing was not a political option, and the scale was too limited for traditional industrial redevelopment.

We developed Bazuin on the combined site, with a mixed concept that is attracting attention in West Flanders today: SME units with a live-work home. Fourteen live-work units where entrepreneurs literally live above their workshop, a format that keeps costs down and brings private life and work together. Alongside these, there are classic SME units for companies that do not need the residential function.

Bazuin shows what brownfield redevelopment can deliver when you look beyond classic business units: room for a different kind of entrepreneurship, on land that would otherwise be lost.

Why Hexagon does this

Brownfield redevelopment is in our DNA because it is in our careers. Before Hexagon, I worked for twelve years at PSR Brownfield Developers, a company within the De Nul Group that focused exclusively on contaminated sites. I then co-founded Revive in Ghent with Nicolas Bearelle. Today it is the first Belgian company with a B Corp certification, specialising in residential brownfield redevelopment.

I founded Hexagon in 2017 to do for business property what Revive does for housing. The circle closes at Twee Kranen, where Hexagon and Revive are working together again: we take care of the SME space and build-to-suit, Revive of the functions that support the neighbourhood. The same brownfield approach, a different product logic.

“Our sector doesn’t always have the best name. Those who work with us know it can be different.”

Julie Casier Business Developer Manager Hexagon

Do you have a site you would like to sell?

We actively acquire sites throughout Flanders — from around 5,000 m², with a preference for West and East Flanders, the Antwerp periphery and the Ghent region. Contaminated soil, asbestos, vacancy, a complex permit history: for us, none of these are reasons to walk away. Discretion goes without saying. So do speed and transparency.

Sell your site to Hexagon

FAQ

How long does a brownfield process take on average?

An agreement between the developer and the Flemish government that sets out the remediation obligations, the zoning framework and the liability arrangements. It is provided for in the 2007 Brownfield Decree. The instrument gives the developer the certainty to invest, and gives the government a guarantee that the site will actually be dealt with.

What exactly is a brownfield covenant?

What if the soil turns out to be more heavily contaminated than estimated?

What sets Hexagon apart from other brownfield developers?

Talk to us

Do you have a site, a question or a case you would like to run past us? Call or e-mail us directly. We work discreetly and will give you an initial view of what is feasible within five working days.