Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Saint-Gilles unveiled ‘Mairesse Garden’ with homes, a crèche, and a park, concluding the Parvis-Morichar Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract to improve housing and public spaces between Place Morichar and Parvis de Saint-Gilles.
Saint-Gilles has just unveiled a new community space including nine residential homes, a crèche and a park which is available to all.
How will Mairesse Garden benefit Saint-Gilles residents?
‘Mairesse Garden’ unlocked its gates on 3 July. The Garden is just off Rue de l’Hôtel de Monnaies and is accessible via this street and via Rue Coenen. The scheme marks the end of the Parvis-Morichar Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract (CQD) between the Brussels-Capital Region, the municipality of Saint Gilles and residents, seeking to improve the housing offering and public spaces in between Place Morichar and the Parvis de Saint-Gilles.
What projects were completed under the CQD contract?
Mairesse Garden “will address some of the fundamental concerns of residents: inexpensive public housing, a seasoned early childhood service and the consolidation of the municipality’s green network,” stated Saint-Gilles Mayor Jean Spinette (PS). Three of the nine latest homes enjoy a “zero energy” model and all residences are equipped with solar panels. 17 bicycle parking spaces have also been delivered.
What is the significance of Joséphine Hortense Mairesse Park?
What was once Coenen Park is now Joséphine Hortense Mairesse Park, anointed after the municipality’s first-ever female teacher by the students of Saint-Gilles College. The 900m2 green space (plus a playground) will be unrestricted to the public, while the crèche has a capacity for 28 children living in the area.
The youngsters will meet out on a mural designed by artist Dulk via the art collective All About Things. Citydev.brussels (the public body leading the renovation) has designated urban artists for residential projects since 2021.
Saint-Gilles’ CQD has entailed the conversion of Place Marie Janson, Hélène De Rudder Garden and Pierre Paulus Park, all places in between Place Morichar and the Parvis. €7.1 million was funded in Mairesse Garden, the final instalment. Citydev.brussels possesses the property and will lease the homes to tenants.
How does Vooruit.brussels plan to transform the prison sites?
In May, Vooruit.brussels also revealed plans to transform Saint-Gilles and Forest prisons in Brussels into an “unclogged urban district” where residents can relish art, sport, education and housing opportunities.
Saint-Gilles prison is billed to shut by the end of the year, with prerequisites inside the prison having been engraved “catastrophic” due to overcrowding and staff shortages.
Dutch-speaking socialists Vooruit.Brussels desire to move quickly to transform the emptied space into a lively community hub. With a scope of 6.5 hectares (almost ten football pitches), the party considers that pre-existing infrastructure is ideal for its ‘Quartier ConneXion’ project.
Vooruit’s vision implicates”a place where the people of Brussels can come jointly to create and relax and then to live and learn[…] Forest prison has already been drained of its inmates, and Saint-Gilles will soon follow. There is no moment to lose. The site needs to find a new function as soon as possible.”
