Tag: Sustainable Development

Urban Capital Group – Vision on sustainable building methods

Posted on by Levi

CEO Levi Dewaegenaere gives his vision on sustainable building construction.

Sustainable development within Urban Capital Group

Urban Capital Group, the real estate development company of Levi Dewaegenaere and his wife Inge Caes, has specialized more and more in low energy projects. In addition to sustainability in terms of E and K values ​​(ie insulation and use of renewable energy), Urban Capital Group also has a sustainable vision for every new construction project that it develops.

Personal guidance, advice and inspiration

With Urban Capital Group, we have been working very strongly for years on personal supervising, advising and inspiring the customer. Through our Customer Guidance & Interior Design Service, we focus on a more sustainable living environment. All this is tailored to the individual needs and personal lifestyle of each client. Both today and in the future.

Urban Capital Group has specialized more and more in low energy projects in recent years.

Sustainable building within Urban Capital Group, more than a low E level

“Building Sustainable”. In the first instance, Levi naturally means sustainable or ecological construction and the implementation of sustainable technologies, but Urban Capital Group also goes one step further and focuses on sustainable living in all its facets. In other words, Urban Capital Group literally aims on the sustainable functioning of the resident in his / her new home, today and tomorrow. An example of this is, for instance, the installation of electrical sockets at a better reachable height for elderly residents. As well as integrating a cozy dining island in the kitchen. This is useful for people with small children where it has to go fast in the morning

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on Medium, and do not forget to follow us there for the latest updates.

Urban Capital Group – Sustainability certified partners

Posted on by Levi

CEO Levi Dewaegenaere gives his vision on sustainably certified partners.

Urban Capital Group joins forces with sustainability-certified partners for finishing materials

For our low-energy projects, Urban Capital Group, under supervision of Levi Dewaegenaere, offers its buyers only bio-ecological responsible finishing materials. Because Urban Capital Group only works with sustainability-certified suppliers, they can offer this quality. All this for kitchens, sanitary, floors, etc.

The right partners make the difference

The kitchen brand “Siematic“ has been FSC approved, says Levi. In doing so, the control of sustainable forest management, the protection of rare tree species and the prevention of violation of human rights are priorities. For SieMatic, sustainability also means minimizing transport and energy consumption, more efficient use of materials and reuse of waste. They are also pioneers in the kitchen industry, who use water-based paints for wood and veneer. Lacquered fronts of SieMatic are in principle styrene-free. No plastic film is used and therefore there is no PVC in the environment. Employees at Siematic are also supported in their sustainability-oriented thinking and acting.

At Schrauwen sanitary facilities, high use is made of rainwater recuperation, solar boilers, condensation cabinets, sparse cranes and the like. Because the plumbing industry has real development growth in sustainable techniques, Schrauwen follows it closely.

F&T parquet and Ecomat worked with PEFC and FSC labeled parquet and oils that are not harmful to nature.

At RG Tiles & Torfs Tiles too, most of the producers in Europe are obliged to work ecologically: cradle to cradle is the norm, the use of renewable energy is greatly encouraged, as are water treatment plants & the reuse of water.

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on Medium, and do not forget to follow us there for the latest updates.

 

Urban Capital Group – Sustainable Building Vision

Posted on by Levi

CEO Levi Dewaegenaere gives his vision on sustainable building.

From the practical point of view, we at Urban Capital Group have increasingly felt the need for a new way of developing in recent years, the development of conceptual projects tailored to the customer on the one hand and great attention to sustainable development on the other, says Levi Dewaegenaere.

In our ambition to raise sustainable construction to a higher level, Levi Dewaegenaere is looking for a suitable location with Urban Capital Group for some time. Because it is important to create an affordable, passive new construction project tailored to the trendy, demanding Antwerp resident.

That is why we speak of a very strong vision for the competition site “Building Block C2”. From which a clear ambition grows towards the development of a total vision for the Cadix at neighborhood level. That is why Levi Dewaegenaere likes to work with the city council to develop a new, visionary and innovative living experience for Antwerp. That is missing in our city today.

Urban Capital Group is responding to international trends with project Depot Cadix.

With the Cadix C2 project proposal Levi dewaegenaere and his team in Antwerp want to respond to the international trend of affordable and sustainable living.

For more insight into Urban Capital Group‘s realizations, interior designs, new developments and daily activities visit the Urban Capital Group news page or follow us on our Social Media Account’s: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube en LinkedIn. 

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on Medium, and do not forget to follow us there for the latest updates.

Urban Capital Group goes sustainable at Depot Cadix

Posted on by Levi

The Cadix-neighborhood at ’t Eilandje with the old port is the first sustainable neighborhood of Flanders. The project ‘Depot Cadix’ was built entirely according to the ‘passive standards’ and with the highest ambitions in the field of sustainability. The first residents just moved in recently in the Madrasstraat. That requires an appropriate welcome gift. Who lives in a house, gets a stylish limited-edition cargo bike from the developer Urban Capital Group. The residents of the apartments receive a unique and personalized folding bicycle.

“With the personalized cycles for each resident, we want to extend the sustainable aspirations for the apartments to the mobility.”

The inhabitants of the extra energy-efficient residential complex ‘Depot Cadix’ will see their energy bill dropping spectacularly to an annual amount equal to the amount that they were used to pay monthly in an ordinary apartment or house.

The residents can now submit a certificate with an average energy value of E35 and K15. At an ordinary apartment it usually lays around E180-E200.

Levi Dewaegenaere (CEO): “The payback of these homes speaks to the imagination. The owners also enjoy a tax advantage, because for each apartment or each home is a tax discount of 40 percent under E40 for the annual property tax. And this for a period of 10 years.”

Also, on several other ways ‘Depot Cadix’ saves energy. Rain and waste water are captured and used for the toilets and the outside tap. A general on/off button in each residence prevents electricity waste, as well as the energy monitoring system and a central heating system with heat exchanger. The residential complex also has triple-glazed windows.

Solar shading on the facades avoid that it gets too hot, and an energy efficient ventilation system provides an optimal indoor climate. In addition, photovoltaic cells on the roof transforms sunlight into energy for each residential unit. In the underground parking, a charging point for electric cars is provided.

The project ‘Depot Cadix’, inspired by warehouse architecture, consists of six townhouses, twenty apartments, two penthouses and two commercial areas. Urban Capital Group started in 2013 with the construction. There are now only a few duplexes and apartments for sale. Some apartments are rented, some fully furnished, some unfurnished.

 

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on Made in Antwerpen.

Depot Cadix is committed to sustainable mobility

Posted on by Levi

Levi Dewaegenaere (CEO): “The residents of the apartments and houses of the new ‘Depot Cadix’ at ’t Eilandje receive a free cargo bike or folding bicycle from Urban Capital Group.”

Depot Cadix, located in the Madrasstraat at ‘t Eilandje, is a sustainable energy efficient building project. With the gift, the project developer Urban Capital Group wants, in addition to sustainable living, also to bet on sustainable mobility. The new owners of the apartments get a folding bicycle. The new residents of the houses get in turn a cargo bike.

“The construction sector has a large ecological footprint”, says Inge Caes, commercial director of Urban Capital Group. “We want to change that. We want to encourage people not only to make ecological choices in the way they live, but also try to stimulate them to think about how the transport themselves.”

The Cadix-neighborhood, where the construction project is located, must be a sustainable and energy efficient city neighborhood. The first in Flanders.

 

Environmentally friendly

Thomas Vercammen (39) lives in one of the new houses and got a cargo bike. That he will use to go to the shop. “I have two teenagers who drink a lot on weeks’ time. Going by bike to the store was over time no longer attainable, obliging me to take the car. Now I can go with the tricycle, a lot more pleasant and environmentally friendly.”

Frank Wilms (50) is since February a new owner of one of the apartments. “I’m going to take my folding bike into my car. That way I can park for free somewhere close to my destination and use the bike for the last piece of the route. The folding bike is also useful for our daughter. During the day she can leave with the bike and in the evening, we can go pick her and the folding bike up by car.”

 

 

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on Gazet van Antwerpen.

 

Residents of Depot Cadix receive a free cargo bike

Posted on by Levi

The future residents of Depot Cadix received free cargo bikes and folding bikes from developer Urban Capital Group. The developer would like to emphasize the sustainability. Depot Cadix is not just yet another building block at ‘t Eilandje. The 6 houses, 22 apartments and 2 commercial spaces are built according the passive construction methods.  “We have gone very far in this matter, even to the choice of wood or suppliers of the paint, everything had to be sustainable. That was also the purpose of the project and of the city of Antwerp”, explains Inge Caes of Urban Capital. Building a passive residence still costs about 25 percent more. “The houses here are 10 to 15% more expensive than the neighbors, but you have to convince the people of the added value. To emphasize again this message, the residents received a brand-new cargo bike or folding bike. “We use the STOP-principle. First try to go by foot, then by bicycle and in last case, use the car. That is why the special bicycle parking is above ground. Research indicates that if you reach your bike sooner than the car, you are more likely to take the bike. Obviously, you cannot forget about the car parking, but than one with a charging point for electric cars on each parking place.

Urban Capital Group’s Passive Building Newspaper in collaboration with De Morgen

Posted on by Levi

Each project at the developer Urban Capital Group is carefully chosen and finished. Two women at the head of the company focus strongly on personal assistance, with a focus on interior choices. “We provide a feminine touch in the sector, with more lifestyle.”

The projects of Urban Capital Group are very diverse: a large residential complex in Antwerp Centre, a small apartment building in Mortsel, Eco Design Villas in Zoersel …

Inge Caes, Director of sales and development: “We focus on projects in which we see an added value for the residents and for the environment. We only select beautiful locations or prima locations in the making. We not only look at the financial aspect, but our gut feeling should be right. The Glass House in Antwerp is a good example: it was abandoned and six project developers before us had already pulled out. But we saw a lot of opportunities in that wonderful modernist building, close to the old town.

Even with the choice of new locations, we consider the future residents. We try to put ourselves in the position of our target group: how they want to live, what their needs are. Particularly in our approach is that the commercial team is involved from the beginning in the development process. I am head of the Department of Development, but also commercial head of the company. Throughout the whole process we keep constantly in mind the interests of our customers.”

You put great emphasis on a personal guidance of the customers. For a developer is that the exception rather than the rule.

Inge Caes: “In our early years we also followed the classic way: the customers were given a list of vendors and shops, where they could make their choice for floors, kitchens, and others. But we noticed that our customers were struggling to make these choices. They could not see the wood for the trees no more. They usually know very well what they like, but they find it difficult to create a coherent set of colors and materials. Often our customers were even too late to submit their choices. They were emotionally not ready for it. Afterwards they were satisfied, but their house was missing just that little bit extra. Four years ago, we changed course.  We were committed to provide better guidance through the process, both in terms of timing as inspiration and advising. Since than we have our own interior designer in house, Ramona Govers.”

 

About Levi Dewaegenaere

Levi Dewaegenaere grew from a professional tennis player to a successful entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of both Urban Capital Group and Waegener.

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on LinkedIn

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Instagram

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Facebook

Follow Levi Dewaegenaere on Twitter

Read the full article here on de Morgen.

 

Urban Capital Group presents its candidacy for the development of the first site in the Cadix neighbourhood at ’t Eilandje

Posted on by Levi

With Urban Capital Group, Levi Dewaegenaere and Inge Caes take sustainable development to the next level. Continue reading “Urban Capital Group presents its candidacy for the development of the first site in the Cadix neighbourhood at ’t Eilandje”